When Two Worlds Collide
by SprouseGoose
Summary: What if there had never been a S.S. Tipton or a Seven Seas High?  What if Bailey and Cody had continuing leading their lives in Kettlecorn and Boston?  Would they still meet each other?  And what would happen when they did?
1. The Two Worlds

_Chapter 1_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody Martin looked around his bedroom one last time, making sure he had packed up everything he was going to need. Sure, they had only been in this new suite on the 24th floor for a couple of years, but he was going to miss it. Zack kept talking about how psyched he was to have his own room finally, but deep down, Cody hoped his brother would miss him too. Of course, every time Cody had brought up his trip to math camp when they were kids, Zack always changed the subject. But this time, Cody wasn't coming back in two weeks. He had graduated Cheevers High a few months ago, and now he was on his way to Yale University on a full academic scholarship.

Once he determined he had everything, he began zipping up his last bag. And as he did that, Zack came walking into their room.

"You aren't gone yet? Hurry up. I have big plans for this place once I have it all to myself..."

Cody smiled and shook his head. "Don't go overboard. I will be back for Thanksgiving, Christmas and then next summer."

Zack just looked at him. "That's why there is a perfectly good couch out in the living room. With Mom having her own bedroom now, its all yours."

"Gee...Thanks..."

Zack rolled his eyes. "I think its fair. I mean...Dad did give you your own car. I didn't get one."

"Because I'm moving. You're staying here in Boston to find yourself, remember? You can do that by using the subway..."

"Whatever...Anyways Broseph...I don't envy you at all. Yale is nothing but a nerd factory. I bet the girls there are either hideous are militant feminists..."

Cody rolled his eyes. "I already have a girlfriend, Zack...You know...Barbara?"

Zack smirked. "How could I forget? Oh wait a minute...Where is she by the way? You're leaving to head to New Haven here in about a half hour. Has she stopped by to see you yet?"

Cody paused and shook his head. "No. Not yet."

"Codester...What do you see in her anyways? She's a grade A, King Kamehamea Bee..."

"Zack!"

Zack shrugged. "What? Its true!"

Cody sighed. "You just don't understand her, that's all..."

"What's to understand? She's Jekyll and Hide..."

Cody's eyes went wide. "Whoa...You used a reference from literature..." He sighed again. "...and used it correctly..."

"You know what I mean. If something good happens to her, she's the happiest person in the world. But if something good happens to someone else, she's bitter and vindictive. She got a partial scholarship to Harvard, she was jumping up and down. You got a full ride to Yale, and you ended up with a broken toe..."

Cody had to nod. "I should have worn my steel toed shoes that day..."

"Why are you with her then?"

"Zack, in case you weren't paying attention during high school, I was exactly a ladies man. Not many girls are attracted to the weak, germaphobe, nonathletic brainy types. Barbara happens to tolerate it, so..."

"What about the twins?"

Cody shook his head. "One, they went back to England two years ago. I heard something about them becoming models. Two, they were fun, but they just weren't the type I would look for a long term relationship with..."

Zack just stared at him. "Long term relationship? Whoa...whoa...whoa. Why would anyone want one of those?"

Cody sighed. "Someday...me."

From behind him, Cody felt a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"And you will, Sweetheart."

Cody turned and smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

Carey smiled back. "Anytime." She looked down at Cody's zipped up bag. "Is that the last one?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. I just have to load it into the car, and I'll be ready to head out."

"You have the directions printed off?"

"Yes, Mom."

"You have Blankie packed?"

Cody smiled. "Yes, Mom..."

Carey sighed. "I wish you weren't going to be so far away...I wish you would have gone to Harvard..." And with that, she turned and glared at Zack.

Zack held up his hands. "Hey! How was I supposed to know that girl's dad was the President of Harvard?"

Carey shook her head. "Well, if you hadn't been trying to juggle four girls at once, you wouldn't have had that problem..."

Zack smirked at her. "This coming from someone who relates everything to an experience with one of her former boyfriends?"

Carey glared at Zack again before turning back to Cody. "So, what time do you have to be there?"

"Check-in is at 3:00 PM. And I'm giving myself three hours to get there."

Carey nodded. "Okay. You will be back soon though, right?"

Cody smiled. "I'll try, Mom. And at the very least, I'll be home by Thanksgiving..."

Zack sighed. "That sucks...I'll have to wait until then for a decent home cooked meal..."

Carey glared at Zack again. "Anyways, I've got some cookies in the oven for you to take with me. I should go check on them."

Once Carey left their room, Zack turned to Cody. "Well, you have coasters now...Anyways, back to Barbara. What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. Long distance relationships work all the time."

Zack laughed. "Yeah, right..." He paused. "How are you going to go so long without...you know..."

Cody sighed. "I've gone eighteen years without it, I think I'll survive..."

Zack just stared at him again. "You and Barbara haven't...?"

Cody shook his head. "No. I respect her. I wasn't going to push anything. Besides..." He paused. "You know, nevermind..."

"What?"

"Well..."

But at that moment, they heard their mother shout out. "Cody! Barbara is here!"

Cody left the bedroom and walked out into the living room area of the suite. And there standing by the door was Barbara.

"Hey! I thought you were going to be here a couple of hours ago. I'm supposed to hit the road in twenty minutes."

Barbara shrugged. "You're not the only one who had to pack their things. I move into my dorm here at Harvard today too."

Cody frowned. "But its just up in Cambridge. New Haven is a few hours away. And to be honest, this summer, it seems like you've been blowing me off a lot..."

Barbara smiled at him. "Cody...Cody...Cody. You worry too much. I've just been busy, that's all..."

Cody sighed. "I still don't see why you wouldn't come to Yale with me..."

Barbara rolled her eyes. "You know all too well that Harvard has been my dream. Its not my fault that you got banned from there. Why should I have to suffer because of your idiot brother?"

Cody shook his head. "No. And I respect the fact that you are pursuing your dream. Well, at least we can spend a few minutes together before I have to leave."

Barbara paused. "Actually, I have to get going. I just stopped by to say goodbye. I...ummm..." She paused again. "Have a good trip, Cody. And call me when you get there." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "See you later..."

And with that, she slipped back out the door leaving Cody standing there in pure shock.

Meanwhile, half a continent away in Kettlecorn, Kansas, Bailey Pickett was in her bedroom packing too. Her Mom was helping her pack the last of her things too. Once they were done, Eunice Pickett smiled at her daughter.

"I guess that's it. I think that's everything. Once you get your exact address, well put your other things in the mail."

Bailey smiled back. "Yeah, I guess so..."

"Your father and I are so proud of you. Our little girl getting a full ride scholarship to Yale. You're the first person from this county to go to an Ivy League school."

"Thanks, Momma. I'll try to do my best to make everyone proud of me."

"We know you will. I can't wait to tell all my friends that my little girl is off to become Bailey Pickett, Medicine Woman..."

Bailey laughed. "Well, actually, I want to be a pediatrician. But close enough."

Eunice smiled. "We're really going to miss you around here, Bailey..." She paused. "Are you sure you're ready for this? I mean Yale is going to be full of city slickers from back east. They aren't like us, Honey..."

"I'll be fine, Momma. I've been waiting for a long time to see what the world outside of Kettlecorn has to offer. I bet they aren't that much different from us though. Sure, they may talk funny, but I'm sure I'll meet some really great people."

"If you're sure. Your Grammy Pickett asked me to give this to you..." She handed Bailey a small object.

Bailey's eyes went wide. "A cell phone?"

Eunice smiled. "Well, we wanted to make sure you could get in touch with us or us in touch with you whenever we needed to. Call home as often as you can."

Bailey grinned. "I will..."

"Well, we need to get you loaded up in the truck. You're flight leaves Topeka at noon, and it will take us a couple of hours to get there."

Bailey nodded. "I think I have everything. I mean, I've got my rooster alarm clock, so I'll have a piece of home with me at all times. I'm going to miss everyone, but this is something I have to do..."

Eunice sighed. "Well, while your Daddy and I support you wholeheartedly, there is someone who isn't happy."

"I know. And he'll just have to deal with it. I've told Moose this has been my dream for a long time."

"And its a stupid one if you ask me!"

Bailey and Eunice turned and saw Moose standing in the doorway. Eunice turned to her daughter. "Well, I have a few snacks for your flight to wrap up for you. I'll see down stairs, Honey."

After Eunice headed out of the room, Moose turned back to Bailey.

"So, you're really doing this? You're really going to head off to Yale?"

Bailey nodded. "Yes, I am. This has been my dream for the longest time. I'm going to do it."

Moose frowned. "But why? You were raised on a farm! On the farm is where you belong!"

Bailey shook her head. "I don't agree. I owe it to myself to follow my dreams. I don't ever want to look back one day and regret not doing that."

"I thought it was one thing when you insisted on finishing high school. I thought that was dumb..."

Bailey sighed. "Just because dropping out after junior year to work on the farm full time works for you, it doesn't mean it works for me!"

"Well, why does a farm wife and mother need a high school diploma for?"

"Because I have no desire to be a farm wife! Why is that so hard for you to understand? I've been telling you that for a long time now..."

"Why? Because you're my girl!"

"Moose, I'm not a possession!"

"How do you think it looks to all my friends? Most of them are married and already have a little one or one on the way."

Bailey smirked. "I know. And with most of them, a shotgun was involved..."

Moose smirked back. "Do you know how much they laugh at me? I'm the one who can't keep his woman in town. I'm the one who can't control his woman!"

Bailey shook her head. "What am I? Am I lost sheep that got away from the flock? What are you going to do? Brand me?"

Moose laughed. "Well, to do that, I'd actually have to be able to touch you. Only time I tried that, I received a knee to the groin..."

"You know...Its obvious you have no respect for me whatsoever. I say we end this now." She shook her head again and muttered. "Why I didn't do that a long time ago, I'll never know..."

Moose had a look of shock on his face. "Whoa...whoa...whoa. Lets not talk crazy here!"

Bailey glared. "What's so crazy about it?"

Moose tried to sooth the talk. "Look, we shouldn't be fighting before you leave to head to head up north. I think both of us are just really upset right now. How about we cool down and we'll talk again later when we both have cooler heads?"

Bailey sighed. "I don't think it will make a difference. This has been a long time coming. Its obvious you have no respect for me or what I want, so..."

Moose cut her off. "Maybe I've been a bit hasty here, and maybe I haven't always said the right things. I guess I'm just really going to miss you while you're gone. Maybe I was hoping if I discouraged you, it would make you stay..."

"Well, I'm not staying..."

"I can see that now. Again, lets calm down and we can talk later. I promise you I will try to be more respectful of what you want. But at the same time, you need to try to be more respectful of what I want..."

Bailey was incredulous. "I supported you when you decided to drop out of school. You said you wanted to be a farmer, and I never tried to get you to change your mind!"

Moose shook his head. "I'm talking about you not having respect for the fact that I want to make you my wife and start having kids while we're young."

Bailey looked at him exasperated. "But I don't want those things right now! I don't know if I ever will!"

"Fine. You go off to Yale. Get this itch out of your system. I know you, Bailey. You'll be back to stay before long. Lets just take some time to figure out what it is we both really want. In time, you'll see that I'm right."

Bailey was about to say something else when Moose held his hand up to her face.

"Lets leave this as it is. No sense in either one of us saying anything right now we'll regret later. I'll see you at Thanksgiving."

And with that, Moose left Bailey's room with Bailey left standing there in pure shock.

_To be Continued..._


	2. Settling In

_Chapter 2_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The drive from Boston to New Haven was a pretty boring one. To break up the monotony, Cody took the route that went south towards Providence and then headed west along the coast to New Haven. Upon finding a parking space close to his new home, Vanderbilt Hall, he left his car and made his way inside to get his information. And upon getting to the registration desk, he learned the information that had been sent to him over the summer had changed.

"Name?"

"Cody Martin."

The woman at the desk searched for his name, found it and looked up and smiled. "Seems we have a change for you, Mr. Martin. You were supposed to be in a suite with a roommate, but now you are in a single room in the basement by yourself. I don't know how you pulled it off as a freshman, but you have one of the single rooms with its own bathroom..." She laughed. "Do you know someone here?"

Cody shook his head. "Not that I know of, but it sounds okay to me." And inwardly, Cody was practically giddy. For the first time in his life, he would have a room to himself. And his own bathroom? One were he didn't have to worry about someone else dirtying it up? He almost fainted.

"Here are your keys. The smaller one is for your P.O. Box over at the Yale Post Office. Welcome to Yale and to the Berkley Residential College!"

Cody smiled. "Thank you."

Immediately, Cody headed down to the basement to check out his room. And at the end of the hall, there it was. To say it was small would be an understatement. But Cody had to laugh. He had once moved into the coat closet in their old suite at the Tipton. And compared to that, his dorm room was palatial. Quickly taking everything in, Cody devised a plan of how he wanted to lay out his new room. Then, he checked out his bathroom. It too was basic, but it had everything he would need – a sink, a toilet and a small shower stall.

"Guess I'm going to have to start taking showers now. I should add a shower mat to my list of things to go pick up later. Plus, cleaning supplies definitely."

Next was the part he wasn't really looking forward to – moving everything in. It took him about an hour to transport everything from his car to his room, but he finally got it done. And then he went about setting everything up. Another hour later, he looked around and was satisfied with what he saw.

"Guess I'm home now..."

One feature he couldn't help but smile at was his large flat screen TV. It had fit in the closet, so it fit in his dorm room. Of course, the expression on Zack's face when he had boxed it up had made it all the worthwhile. Sitting back on his bed, he began to relax and take it easy. Well, he was about to when he looked out his window and saw a girl struggling to drag all of her things across the courtyard.

For her part, Bailey had just relaxed the whole flight to Philadelphia and then on to New Haven. When she went over in her mind her conversation with Moose earlier, she would get agitated. That's when she decided to forget about it. This was her dream after all, and she wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of it.

Upon arriving at the New Haven airport, she gathered all of her belongings and sighed in relief when she saw the shuttle for Yale. The driver seemed to be completely disinterested and avoided making eye contact with her. Bailey rolled her eyes and managed to gather all of her things on a luggage cart and push it out to the bus.

"I'm Bailey Pickett. I believe you are expecting me."

The driver sighed. "Yeah. Lets get your stuff loaded up."

Twenty minutes later, Bailey was waiting on the bus as a couple of other students were loaded up too. Next thing she knew, she was on her way towards campus. The other two students were dropped off first, and finally, Bailey was dropped off in front of her new dorm – Vanderbilt Hall. The driver helped her unload her stuff. And as Bailey was making sure she had her ID to show, the bus driver pulled off and left her all by herself.

Bailey groaned, and she proceeded to try to pile all of her bags on her trunk, but obviously it wasn't going to work. She tried to think of what she could do, but she was coming up with nothing. And that's when she heard it.

"Do you need some help?"

Bailey turned and saw a young man with blond hair, blue eyes, a few inches taller than she was and a comforting smile on his face. She smiled back.

"I would be eternally grateful. I'm Bailey Pickett."

"Cody Martin. Nice to meet you, Bailey. So, which dorm is yours?"

"Vanderbilt Hall...I'm in the Berkley Residential College" She paused. "Which one is that?"

Cody laughed. "The one right behind us. I live there now too...down in the dungeon. Which room is yours?"

Bailey sighed. "Well, I haven't checked in yet, but I don't want to leave my things out in the open like this..."

Cody nodded. "I understand. Let me think." He looked over and noticed his window wasn't that far away. "I think I have an idea. My window is right over there. I'll go back in and open it. We'll move your things into my room..."

Bailey interrupted. "I don't know...I just met..."

Cody cut her off and smiled. "And once we do, I will accompany you to get your keys so you don't have to worry about me going through your things."

Bailey laughed. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

Cody shrugged. "Its the exact same thing I would be thinking if the situation was reversed. So, what do you think?"

"All things considered, I think I would be a fool to turn down your offer."

"Well, I'll head in to open the window, and we'll get started."

And that's what they did. Rather quickly, they moved everything over in front of the window. Cody headed inside, and Bailey began handing him bags and then her trunk through the window. After closing and locking the window, Cody met her back outside.

"All locked up and secure."

Bailey smiled. "Thank you so much for your help."

Cody smiled back. "Don't thank me yet. We're only halfway done."

Soon enough, Bailey had her keys, and she and Cody began the process of taking her things up to her dorm room. Fortunately, her roommate hadn't checked in yet, so she was able to choose which side of the room she wanted. Once everything was in the room, Cody bid her a farewell and headed back to his dorm room.

Like Cody had earlier, Bailey went through and set up her side of the room. And once she was done to her satisfaction, she pulled out her new cell phone and called home.

"_Pickett residence."_

"Hey, Momma. Its me. I just wanted to let you know I'm here and settled in."

"_That's wonderful, Bailey. Did you have any problems?"_

Bailey paused. "Well, I thought I was going to, but I had Good Samaritan or knight in shining armor show up to help me."

"_What happened?"_

Bailey explained what had happened with her things, and how the Cody guy had shown up out of nowhere to help.

_Eunice smiled. "Well, looks like my concerns were unwarranted, and there are good people there. What are your plans for the rest of your day?"_

"I'm not sure yet, Momma. But it is getting kind of late in the evening, so I'll probably head for supper in the dining hall here in a bit. Maybe when I get back, my roommate will be here."

"_You do that. Take care of yourself and call us back soon."_

Bailey hung up and looked around her new home once again.

"Well, its not the farm, but its my new home."

Making sure she had her student ID card which doubled as her meal card, she locked up her room and headed down to the dining hall. Going through the food line, Bailey was surprised to see many food items she had never seen before. But there was one thing she saw that brought a smile to her face.

"I'll have some of the chicken pot pie, please."

The older woman working the line looked up and smiled at her.

"Another southern girl up here in New England?"

Bailey smiled back. "Well, Kansas actually..."

The woman nodded. "Welcome to Yale then. Show them that people with southern accents are just as smart as the rest of them."

"I'll do my best."

Bailey finished getting her dinner and made her way into the dining room. There were other students in and around the dining room. Of course, not a single person there looked familiar to her at all. And that's when she saw him. Over in a corner of the dining room by himself was the guy who helped her earlier. Bailey paused to remember his name and felt better when she remembered it. She walked over to the table he was at, and Cody noticed someone in his peripheral vision. Looking up, he saw the young woman he had helped earlier.

"Hey...Bailey, right?"

Bailey nodded and smiled. "Right. And you're Cody, right?"

Cody smiled back and nodded. "Correct."

Bailey paused. "Ummm...I was wondering if you minded if I joined you? I don't know anyone else here, and I was hoping..."

Cody just kept smiling. "Join the club. Have a seat. Though, the only thing I'll be lifting now will be my fork."

Bailey just laughed and sat down.

_To be Continued..._


	3. Siggy and Carl

_Chapter 3_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Bailey sat down opposite of Cody, and smiled at him again.

"Thanks. And thank you again for your help earlier. If you hadn't been there, I'd probably still be standing out there trying to figure out what to do."

Cody laughed. "No problem. I spent six years living at the Tipton Hotel in Boston, and my friend Esteban was a bellhop. I helped him out from time to time. So, no uncharted territory for me..."

Bailey's eyebrows raised. "You actually lived in a hotel?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. My Mom was the in house cabaret singer, and part of her deal was a suite in the hotel to live in. For a few years, it was my Mom, my twin brother and I living in a one bedroom suite, but a couple years ago, we got bumped up to two bedroom one."

"A twin brother? There's two of you?"

"Maybe physically though we don't look as much a like as we used to. But personality wise, we're like night and day."

Bailey smiled. "Which one are you? Night or day?"

Cody chuckled. "I like to think day, but who knows?"

"Well, from what I saw earlier, I would tend to agree. Living in Boston must have been something else. So much history there surrounding you..."

"Yeah, it was great. But I was born in Seattle, and we moved around a lot before we settled in Boston six years ago. So, I guess you'd say I'm a mixed breed..." He grinned. "...with a garbled accent."

Bailey laughed. "You don't have to tell me about accents. I've heard people say a southern accent deducts ten IQ points from you in most people's minds."

"Well, you're here at Yale. I assume you have plenty of IQ points to spare. Where are you from anyways?"

"Kettlecorn, Kansas. Its so small that if you blink, you might miss it. My parents, my nine sisters and I all lived on our family farm..."

This time Cody's eyebrows raised. "Nine sisters? I thought I had it bad with one brother..."

Bailey grinned. "I'm sure both were trying at times in their own ways."

Cody nodded. "Very true. In fact, I was all set to go to Harvard until my brother made that an impossibility..."

Bailey frowned. "How did he do that?"

Cody sighed and relayed the story about the Harvard president's daughter to her. Bailey just sat there with her eyes open wide.

"Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately, I am..."

"I would definitely say he is the night then. Unless you are a womanizer too..."

Cody laughed. "Hardly. I've got the same girlfriend I've had since the eighth grade." He paused. "Or had...I'm not sure anymore."

"What do you mean?"

Cody shook his head. "I'm sure you don't want to hear about it."

Bailey smiled. "Try me. Besides, after your help from earlier, I'd like to repay the favor if I can."

Cody paused and looked at the young lady sitting across from him. Normally, he was a very private person, but from some reason, he felt like he could talk to her.

"Well, Barbara and I started going out in eighth grade like I said. And we've been dating ever since. But about our sophomore year of high school, things started to change. She became more distant at times, and we didn't hang out as much." He sighed. "And not being the most suave or masculine of guys, I didn't want to rock the boat. I mean, I actually had a girl that liked me, and I guess I was scared to lose that not knowing what else was out there. And I did really like her at first. But as I got older, I began to question that. Again, I was too scared to really question it too much though as I was scared of the answers I would find. We had talked about going to Harvard together, and I thought being off at college together might make things better. But then Zack happened, and that possibility was gone. It would have been nice for her to have come here to Yale with me, but she said Harvard was a dream. And if its her dream, I have no right to interfere with that. And this past summer was the worst. It felt like she was constantly blowing me off in hanging out together. Like she had something better to do. This morning before I left, she only stopped by for a few minutes before she was gone again. Kind of pathetic, huh?"

Bailey paused. "If it is, consider it another club we're both members of..."

"What do you mean?"

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you just describe the beginnings of my relationship with my boyfriend. We started dating when we were young too. And like you, about three years ago, I realized things were changing. I didn't want to ask questions either. In fact, just this morning, I did begin asking them and I didn't like the answers I was getting."

Cody gave her a sad smile. "Then you're way ahead of me then..."

Bailey returned the same sad smile. "I was ready to break up with him before I left, but he wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise. And I wouldn't feel right not doing it in person. I don't want to make it sound bad, but I think I just outgrew him. That, and the fact that he had no respect for my dreams. First, he wanted me to drop out of high school with him. Then, he tried to pressure me to marry him and begin a family. He didn't seem to understand my dream of seeing the world and becoming a pediatrician..."

Cody smiled at her. "Pre-med, huh? Another club we're both in." He paused. "But why wouldn't he support your dreams? Our dreams are our dreams. If we don't pursue them, we'll always regret it..."

"Exactly! He couldn't understand that though." She sighed. "Instead of thinking of me as another person, I think he thought of me as a piece of property that he could tell what to do."

"Sorry."

Bailey shook her head. "Don't be. I should be thanking you again for listening to me." She smiled. "You know...you're pretty easy to talk to."

Cody smiled back. "I could say the same for you. I was concerned I wouldn't know anyone here and be all alone. Nice to know I've already made a friend..." He paused. "I hope I'm not too presumptuous in saying that."

"Not at all. I actually had the same concerns myself. Its a relief to already find someone I get along with and can talk to." She smiled. "You sure you aren't a psychiatrist?"

Cody laughed. "Afraid not. But I did once have a hamster I named Sigmund Freud. Though, he disappeared on me one day..."

Bailey laughed too. "Are you serious? I had a pet lamb I named Carl Jung."

"No way!"

"I swear, I did. He disappeared one day too, but I'm pretty sure I know what happened to him though."

Cody paused and then his eyes went wide. "Oh..."

"Yeah..."

"Anyways...What are your plans the rest of the weekend until orientation on Monday?"

Bailey paused to think. "Well, unlike you, I will be having a roommate. So, I guess meeting her and praying we can get along."

"Probably a good idea. Tomorrow, I have to go pick up the dorm refrigerator I'm renting, go get my schedule finalized, go buy books, and then find a Wal-Mart to pick up some things for my room."

Bailey sighed. "All things I have to do tomorrow as well. Its going to take me forever with me having to walk or take public transportation."

Cody paused to consider that. "Well...I have a car here with me. If you want, you can ride with me and save some time..."

Bailey's eyes lit up. "Seriously? I would be forever grateful..."

Cody smiled. "Not a problem. How about we meet here for breakfast about nine and go from there?"

Bailey smiled back. "Sounds like a plan. You know...I'm almost thankful that bus driver abandoned me right in front of your dorm room window."

Cody laughed. "Something tells me you would have figured out something on your own."

"Well, thanks to you, I didn't have to...I really want to show you my appreciation for everything. How about we go get some ice cream at the campus shop. My treat."

"I could go for some ice cream..." He pulled something out his pocket and unfolded it. "Okay, we're here in Vanderbilt Hall, and the ice cream parlor is..." He began looking at the map in front of him.

Bailey pulled a map from her pocket too. "From our dorm here, look up and to the left."

Cody did and laughed. "Ahh...There it is."

Bailey smiled. "You carrying around a map too?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. Guess I was afraid of getting lost."

"Me too. Why don't we go get that ice cream and then look around campus to familiarize ourselves with everything?"

"Now, that sounds like a plan."

Both got up and headed out together. And both had smiles on their faces. In a place that neither knew a living soul, they had each already found a friend their first day. And both thought to themselves that maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

__To be Continued...__

**AN: I've had someone review this story complain that I'm writing Moose out of character. I would respectfully disagree with that. Moose only made two appearance, and both times he was portrayed as a misogynistic and controlling person who thought he knew what was best for Bailey. He was shown not to respect her opinion and what she wanted. Both times when she rejected him, he pouted and stormed out like a little kid who's favorite toy was taken away from him. Even in Bailey's dream, it was shown that she views him as a controlling person who doesn't care about what she wants and doesn't think she can take care of herself. That's how the character Bailey sees him, and I'm consistent with that viewpoint. Plus, unlike other characters who have been carefully defined as to who they are over the course of 3-6 years, Moose only appeared in two episodes. All that is known about him comes from those, and I have written him consistent with those. So, to this person who disagrees with me, I suggest you take it up with me in a PM. Or, you say you read the forum. If you wish to debate us, fine. But if you don't like my stories, no one is holding a gun to your head and making you read them.**__  
><em>_


	4. Bailey's Roommate

_Chapter 4_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After getting their ice cream, Cody and Bailey continued walking around the campus familiarizing themselves with it. And along the way, both kept sharing stories with the other of growing up in their respective hometowns which branched off into other topics. Before either realized it, the time had passed quickly and gotten late. It was only after Bailey noticed that it was getting a little chilly did they notice.

"Wow...It got cool all of a sudden."

Cody nodded. "Yeah..." He checked his watch and laughed. "Of course, it is almost one in the morning..."

Bailey just looked at him. "Are you serious?"

"Well, I guess it would still only be about midnight to you."

Bailey laughed. "Eastern standard time. One more thing to get used to."

Cody laughed to. "You get used to it. Whenever I used to visit my grandmother in Seattle and then go back to Boston, that used to really screw with my internal clock."

Bailey smiled. "Well, we have a lot to do tomorrow. I guess we should be calling it a night."

Reluctantly, Cody nodded. "I guess so..." But he was in no hurry to do so. For the first time in the longest time, he had had a lot of fun that day. Unlike Barbara who got angry when you disagreed with her, Bailey would simply argue her viewpoint but not get upset if Cody disagreed. And not once did she act like she was going to stomp his foot. Plus, there was something about her laugh that was intoxicating.

Likewise, Bailey didn't want the night to end either. Hanging out with someone who could match her intellectual level on a wide variety of subjects was a whole new experience for her. Add in the fact that he was kind and funny just made the whole evening one of the most pleasurable of her young life.

Making their way back to their dorm, both wished the other a goodnight and vowed to see the other for breakfast in less than eight hours. Returning to his room, Cody changed into a t-shirt and pajama pants, and laid down for the first time in his new bed. Returning to her room, Bailey noticed her room looked different. Of course, part of that was a strange girl asleep in the other bed. Bailey shrugged to herself. She guessed she would just have to meet her roommate in the morning. So, she changed into her pajamas and went to bed herself.

At eight o'clock the next morning, Bailey was woken up to the sound of her chicken alarm clock. She smiled as she woke up to such a comforting sound. Unfortunately, her roommate wasn't used to it and shot up out of bed in a panic.

"What the hell was that?"

Bailey looked over and grimaced. "Sorry about that. That was my chicken alarm clock. Hope it didn't scare you..."

Her roommate just looked at her before she started laughing. "Don't worry about it. I'm Monica...I'm assuming you're my roommate."

Bailey laughed. "Yeah, that's me. I'm Bailey. I would have introduced myself when I got back last night, but you were already asleep."

"I appreciate that. So, tell me about yourself."

And for the next twenty minutes, Bailey and Monica filled each other in about themselves. Seems Monica was from New York and came from a very wealthy family. She was a fine arts major, and she had a boyfriend who lived in another dorm on campus.

Bailey smiled. "I'd love to stay at chat some more, but I'm supposed to meet another friend of mine to do some errands today..."

Monica paused. "I thought you said you didn't know anyone here?"

"I didn't until yesterday. I met a nice guy who came to my aid. And we became fast friends..."

Monica grinned. "Ahhh...I see. You work fast."

Bailey laughed. "Nothing like that. He has a girlfriend, and I have a boyfriend. Sort of. We just get along great and have a lot in common. Hey, why don't you come with us?"

Monica shook her head. "No thanks. I'm supposed to meet my boyfriend for breakfast in a little bit anyways."

"Okay, we'll I'm going to pick up the dorm fridge I rented. Feel free to use it too if you want."

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

Thirty minutes later, Bailey was showered, changed and making her way down to the dining hall. When she got there, she saw Cody there waiting on her.

"Sorry I'm late. Met my new roommate for the first time this morning."

Cody smiled. "No worries. Maybe we should ask if she wants to come with us?"

Bailey smiled back. "Already did, and she's meeting her boyfriend in a little while."

Cody shrugged. "Oh well. Shall we then?"

"Lets."

Both got their trays and their breakfasts and made their way to their table from the night before. And as they sat there eating, the continued to chat.

"So, what's she like?"

Bailey swallowed her eggs and looked up. "Well, get this. She comes from the Hilton family. Imagine that, me a farm girl sharing a room with a hotel heiress..."

Cody laughed. "I'm sure you'll do fine. I already know one hotel heiress, and while she is spoiled and often condescending, she does have a heart of gold."

"Who do you know?"

"London Tipton."

Bailey paused. "I know that name. Doesn't she have a web show?"

Cody smiled. "Sure does. Yay Me! Starring London Tipton. I used to be the producer of it until I came here."

Bailey just looked at him again. "Wait a minute!" She looked closer and her eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! I remember you now! You're the one she used to put make up on and make wear high heels!"

Cody sighed. "Yeah...that was me. Not my finest moments..."

Bailey laughed. "Don't worry about it. One of my older sisters used to make me watch it with her. She'll flip when I tell her I'm friends with you. She'll probably ask for your autograph."

"Really? Someone would want my autograph?"

"Of course..." She paused. "I remember what you said your idea of a perfect first date was. I remember thinking how wonderful it sounded. It was the kind of date I hoped Moose would think of, but he never did. I hope that Barbara girl appreciated it."

Cody shook his head. "Not really. I think she was bored out of her mind."

Bailey paused. "Oh...Sorry."

Cody shrugged. "Can't win 'em all I guess..."

"Let's get back to a happier topic. So, you're pre-med too, huh?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. I need to talk to my adviser, but I'm supposed to take an organic chem with a lab, a biology with a lab and a few other prerequisites."

Bailey smiled. "Same here. Maybe we should try to take the same classes so we'd know someone to do labs with and study with."

Cody smiled back. "I'd be game for that. Though, I have to warn you. I'm kind of...ummm...a perfectionist when it comes to my homework..."

"No worries. I can be too." She laughed. "So, just agree with me, and we'll be fine."

"Well, how about we get our day started then?"

"Lets go!"

And that's what they did. The first stop was picking up their rental fridges. Once that was done, they were off to their advisers. An hour later, they both walked out, sharing five of their six classes together. With set schedules, they both made their way to the campus bookstore. After gathering up all of their books and supplies, they began checking out.

"That'll be $873.54."

Cody handed the cashier his student ID. "My books are covered by my scholarship. I was told to just show you my ID card."

The cashier kept chewing her gum and swiped his card. "Okay. You're good."

When it was Bailey's turn, she handed her card too. "I'm on scholarship too."

Cody turned back to her in surprise. "You are?"

Bailey smiled. "Yeah. I am. Kind of the reason I'll be taking academics so seriously. I have to keep my scholarship."

Cody nodded. "Same here."

"Good. I have a study partner who I know won't be slacking off."

Cody laughed. "The next time I slack off will be the first."

After lugging all of their things back to Cody's car, they began their final errand and found a Wal-Mart. They grabbed one cart and began going through each aisle finding everything they needed. Seeing some of the things Cody had put in the cart, Bailey just laughed.

"Have enough cleaning supplies, moisturizer and hand sanitizer?"

Cody paused and blushed. "Yeah, I'm kind of a germaphobe. You see, when I was younger, I got really sick with an infection and almost died from it. Since then, I've done everything I can to be as clean as possible to avoid a repeat. Sounds stupid, huh?"

Bailey shook her head. "Not at all. When things like that happen to you at a young age, it sticks with you. I had to live through a tornado when I was a little girl. Ever since, I've been irrationally scared of bad storms."

Cody smiled. "Well, you're in New England now. Not many tornadoes, but you might get to experience a Nor'easter up close."

"I read about those. I actually can't wait to see one."

Cody laughed. "Famous last words..."

After getting everything they needed, they headed back to campus. Once parked, they began unloading all of their things.

"Lets do the fridges first. I would say they are probably the heaviest..."

Bailey grinned. "I don't know...As I recall, our books weren't light..."

"Touche. But the fridges are the most awkward to carry. We'll do yours first since we have to climb up stairs with it. Might as well do it when we have the most energy."

Bailey nodded her agreement, and together, they carried it up to Bailey's room. As they were getting it set up, Monica came back into the room and noticed Cody.

Bailey looked up at her. "Monica, this is my friend, Cody. Cody, this is my roommate, Monica."

Cody nodded. "Nice to meet you."

Monica smiled. "Likewise I'm sure. Looks like you two have had a busy day."

Bailey laughed. "Oh, this is only our first load we've brought in. We still have several more."

And the next forty-five minutes, they brought load after load in from the car. The final load was bringing in Cody's books down to his room. Once they were done, both looked at the other and exhaled.

"Glad that's done with..."

Cody nodded. "Tell me about it. I think I need a nap before dinner."

"Me too. How about we..." She paused and stopped. "Nevermind."

Cody looked at her. "What?"

Bailey sighed. "I stupidly assumed we'd meet up again for dinner. You know what happens when you assume..."

Cody smiled. "Well, I guess I assumed it too. I'd much rather have dinner with a friend than by myself or with a bunch of strangers..."

Bailey smiled back. "Thanks. I don't mean to latch on to you, but you're the only person here I actually kind of know..."

Cody shrugged. "Latch away. I don't believe you saw me complaining. Besides, we're going to have several classes together. I get the feeling we're going to be hanging out a lot."

"I think so too. Thank you again for everything."

"You're welcome. So, what do you say? Dinner at 7:00?"

Bailey grinned. "See you then."

Bailey headed back up to her room to take a break and put away her new things. And as she was setting up her books on her desk, Monica came back into the room.

"There you are. I figured you'd still be with Cody..."

Bailey looked up. "Just putting my stuff away. I'm meeting him at 7:00 for dinner."

Monica grinned. "I see how it is. While the cats are away, the cats are going to play, huh?"

Bailey just looked at her funny. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh please. You've only been here a day, and you've already got you a new guy..."

"Its not like that. We just get a long, and we're both pre-med. We'll have classes together. We're just friends, that's all..."

"Uh huh...So, he helped you out yesterday out of the goodness of his heart, he's cute and he's going to be a doctor? If you don't snatch him up, some else will. A lot of girls are here looking to get their MRS..."

Bailey frowned. "Their what?"

Monica laughed. "They're here to find them a wealthy husband to take care of them."

Bailey shook her head. "That's not me. Having someone around that I can just be me with doesn't make me miss home as much. It is possible for a guy and a girl to be friends, you know?"

Monica just shook her head. "If you say so..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Wow, these reviews are getting fun to read. I have people who love my writing, and people who hate it. I'm starting to feel like Howard Stern. Maybe I should start calling myself The King of All Fanfiction? LOL I appreciate those who enjoy my stories. Someone posted a group of authors who were better. I have to disagree. That is a list of writers who want to characters to be who they want them to be and not who they really are. The characters have been defined as to who they are. Change that, and you are creating new characters. I'm relieved to see people are agreeing with my interpretation of Moose. I thought maybe I had saw things wrong, but I happy to see others agree with how I see him. Somebody said I don't write for other couples. Have they even read my stories? I put both Moseby & Tut and Woody & Addison together in my stories before the show did. In my Cailey on Deck series, there is no Maya. I admit that. But to be fair, that series was begun before the character of Maya had been introduced. If she had been around, I would have incorporated her and not created a love interest for Zack. Now, if that person is referring to me not pairing Cody and Bailey with anyone but each other, well...duh. I'm a Cailey fan. Most of my stories involve them, so if you don't like Cailey, why bother reading my stories? Besides, based on what the characters have said and how they act, they are perfect for each other. Cody has never shown any interest in London or Maya and saying he does totally contradicts his character. Same with Bailey and Woody or Zack. My goal is to keep the characters true to how the show has portrayed them. I didn't create the characters, so they are not mine to do whatever I want to with them. I may throw new situations at them, but at the end of the day, their actions and behavior should match up with how the characters should act and behave based on how they have been portrayed. Okay, off my soapbox now.**__  
><em>_


	5. The Ribbon

_Chapter 5_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The next couple weeks flew by. Orientation started on Monday, and for two days, all the incoming freshmen learned everything they wanted to know about Yale. Every club and school organization (well, except for a few that were of the secret variety) had up booths trying to extol their virtues in hopes of attracting new members. But once Wednesday hit, all of that was forgotten as classes began.

After a first day of being told what to expect in classes, everything began in earnest. And Yale didn't get its reputation as a top academic institution for no reason. Classes were very vigorous, and the professors demanded a lot from their students. But to Cody and Bailey both, this was the type of atmosphere they had been waiting for their whole lives. And while some students were in complete shell shock, they were thriving.

Beyond being the friendly face and sympathetic ear they had started out as, both relied on the other to push them in their studies. And having the majority of the same classes together, they were able to serve as sounding boards for the other while studying. And studying they did. Cody having a room to himself was a godsend to them. There, they could study and not worry about interrupting others or others interrupting them.

And by spending so much more time together, Cody and Bailey's friendship continued to deepen. Even when studying, they both would try to keep things from getting too serious by cracking the occasional joke or even more late night trips for ice cream. And the end of September brought with it the first round of exams. The amount of time they both spent studying for exams made the time they spent doing homework pale in comparison.

Once the first round was over, they could breathe a little bit and relax. Of course, it hadn't gone unnoticed how much time they were spending together. After her last test, Bailey returned to her room to take a nap when she saw Monica inside already. And when Bailey walked in, Monica looked up and grinned at her.

"Well, well. I do still have a roommate after all. I was beginning to wonder."

Bailey sighed. "I've been studying for exams."

"And where have you been studying?"

Bailey paused. "In Cody's room..."

Monica laughed. "I figured as much. You've been spending a lot of time there..."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "We have the same classes, and we're both on scholarships. It just makes sense for us to work together."

"Uh huh. What would your boyfriend back in Kansas think about you spending so much time with another guy? One that's as handsome as Cody is..."

Bailey sighed. Moose. In the past month, she had hardly ever thought of him at all. But Monica made a good point. Moose wouldn't be happy about her spending all of this time with Cody at all, no matter how innocent it was. But then Bailey thought of something else. Did she care what Moose thought? And she realized she really didn't.

"Well?"

Bailey looked up. "Huh?"

"What would your boyfriend think?"

Bailey shrugged. "He probably wouldn't like it. But I'm doing what's best for me. And what's best for me is my education. That's what I care about right now. If he doesn't like it, oh well."

Monica nodded. "Alright. Well, some of us still have another exam tomorrow, so I should get back to studying."

"That's cool. I'm going to grab a shower, and I'll be out of your hair."

Monica just smiled as she looked down at her book. "What are your plans for tonight?"

Bailey was absentmindedly gathering her stuff for the shower when she answered. "I'm meeting Cody for dinner, and then we're going to see a foreign film in one of the campus theaters."

Monica just shook her head.

But some of what she had said stuck with Bailey. While she didn't particularly care what Moose thought, she was worried that Cody might get in trouble with his girlfriend, Barbara. So, that night at dinner, she brought it up.

"Ummm...Cody?"

Cody looked up. "Yeah?"

"I was wondering. Has Barbara said anything about us spending so much time together studying? I don't want her to get upset with you over it."

Cody gave her a sad smile. "For Barbara to do that, she would actually have to take one of my calls so I could tell her. But I appreciate the concern. If she does have a problem, then its all on her. I think we have a good system going, and I have no desire to give it up."

Bailey smiled back. "Me either. I just didn't want you to get into any trouble."

"Don't worry about it. If Barbara is pursuing her dream, then so can I. And only someone who is that petty would be upset about us studying together..." Cody paused. "Of course...Barbara is that petty. She stomped my foot and broke one of my toes when I got a full ride to Yale and she only got a partial one to Harvard."

Bailey's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. She didn't like it when I did better in things than she did. I had to buy a pair of steel toed shoes to wear on occasions when I beat her at something."

Bailey paused. "No offense, but that doesn't sound very healthy..."

"I've started to realize that. But nothing I can do right now. Like you said, when I talk to her, I should do it in person."

"Good idea."

"What about...what's his name...Moose? Would he care?"

Bailey laughed. "Oh yeah. He'd be livid. But like you said, that's his problem. I don't think I care what he thinks though. Again, like you said. I'm chasing my dream. If he can't support that..."

Cody smiled. "How about we change the subject. I'm really looking forward to this Japanese movie. I'll get a chance to see how rusty my Japanese is."

Bailey smiled back. "I know...Me too. In Kettlecorn, I didn't get much chance to practice it. Only times I did is when Daddy asked me to look at the instructions on a new farm machine."

And the movie was fun. It was a good break just to stop and catch their breaths. Because even though exams were over, school wasn't. For Cody, in his other class, he had a paper due the following Friday. So, he was working away on it at nights once he got his other homework done. For Bailey, she similarly had a paper due in her other class. She was returning from the library with the last of her research ready to finish it. But when she got to her room, she saw something that made her groan. There was a ribbon tied around the doorknob. That was the sign from Monica that she wanted some time alone with her boyfriend. She stood there trying figure out where she could go, but there was only one place she could think of. She didn't want to disturb Cody, but he was the only person on campus she felt comfortable going to. So, she headed down to his room and knocked on his door.

When Cody answered his door, he was in a t-shirt and pajama pants. And when he saw Bailey standing there, he was a little surprised.

"Hey...What's up?"

Bailey sighed. "Cody, I have a huge favor to ask of you."

"Name it."

"Well...Monica has a ribbon tied around our doorknob that I discovered when I got back from the library..."

Cody just stood there not sure what the meant. "And that means?"

Bailey had to bite her tongue from laughing. "It means she and her boyfriend want some time alone..."

"Oh..." Cody paused and realization hit him. "OH...I see" He began laughing. "Come on in and take a load off then."

Bailey smiled. "You sure you don't mind?"

Cody shook his head. "Not at all. Unless you mind me working on my paper."

"I was going to do the same. I promise. It'll be like I'm not even here." She looked over to wall and saw Cody had a Red Sox game on the TV. "I should have known you were a Red Sox fan."

Cody shrugged. "It happened. You a baseball fan?"

Bailey nodded. "I am. Royals I guess, but they are usually terrible. I actually played on my high school baseball team."

Cody was impressed. "You must be really good then."

Bailey smiled. "I'm alright. Plus, the school only have about sixty kids K-12, so everyone could play if they wanted to."

Cody laughed. "I probably would still have gotten cut..." He paused. "I'm not the most athletic guy in the world..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I always had trouble with depth perception. Turns out I had an astigmatism that caused it. By the time I found out about it and had it corrected, it was too late for me. I had given up on playing sports by then."

"I can understand that. Maybe you're athletic now and you don't know it?"

Cody laughed. "I doubt that." He nodded towards the TV. "If its too distracting though, I can turn it off. Growing up with Zack, I got used to tuning out distractions."

Bailey smiled again. "I don't mind at all."

"Good. If you want, help yourself to anything in the fridge and feel free to take my bed if you want and stretch out."

Bailey did so and she noticed something. "You're bed is a lot more comfortable than mine is. How did you pull that off?"

Cody grinned. "I got one of those egg crate pads to put on top of the mattress. I love it."

Bailey laughed. "I can see why...I know what I'm putting on my Christmas list now..."

Cody laughed too, and both headed back to their respective papers. But Bailey wasn't kidding. She was getting very comfortable. She kept working, but was having to fight off the occasional yawn. Finally, she finished her paper and saved it. As she was reading back over it to edit it, she reclined with her hand holding up her head. And that was her mistake. With in minutes, she was fast asleep.

Hearing a strange noise, Cody turned around and saw that Bailey had fallen asleep. He just shook his head and smiled. Getting up, he grabbed a blanket and threw it over Bailey and took her laptop and set it on top of his dresser. He returned back to his desk and continued work on his own paper. A couple of hours later, he had finished his work, saved it in multiple places and printed out a copy to edit the next day. Standing up to stretch, he looked over at Bailey sleeping and just stood there watching her for a little while. Smiling, he sat back down and propped his feet up on his desk and closed his eyes to catch his breath. A few minutes later, he was asleep too.

_To be Continued..._

**AN: I admit. I'm getting my popcorn ready to read the reviews on this story. I see some 'critics' of mine who keep posting, and I keep asking myself why they keep reading my stories if they don't like them. I guess there must just be something...extraordinary about them. And I'm particularly enjoying this person claiming to be my 'besty' who things they are clever by insulting me by making it look like a compliment. Waving...Nice to see you again too, SK. I love the fact that you continue to read my stories yet bash me every chance you get. I wonder...should I start carrying around bear repellent like Cody does? Oh well, I've already reported you to board moderators before for spamming me, for harassment, and for the vile, ugly things you have said about the cast of the show. Oh, and for having about 7,549 screen names. Of course, I may have missed a couple.**

**Anyways, wanted to shout out a Happy 18th Birthday to Deathlyhallows. Enjoy 18 as long as you can. If I could go back to being 18 with knowing the things I do now... **_  
><em>


	6. The Invitation

_Chapter 6_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Several hours later, the sun began streaming through the window of Cody's dorm room. Bailey sighed in contentment and snuggled in under the blanket. She knew she had just had a wonderful dream, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember any of it. But whatever it was, the good mood she was in hopefully meant it was a good one. Opening her eyes, she smiled welcoming the new day. However, she soon realized she wasn't in her dorm room. Sitting up in a start, she looked around. That's when she noticed she was in Cody's dorm room. Looking over, she saw Cody fast asleep in his desk chair. He was snoring slightly and had a little drool at the corner of his mouth. Bailey had to catch herself before she laughed out loud. She just shook her head and smiled at the sight before her. And then she realized there was a blanket over her. She paused trying to remember where it had come from, but the only thing she could think of was that Cody had put it over her.

Bailey got up off of the bed and slipped her shoes back on. She noticed her laptop sitting on Cody's dresser and began creeping over to it. And that's when she heard it. Well, heard two things actually. The first was Cody's alarm clock going off. The second was the large thud as a startled Cody fell out of his desk chair and landed on the floor.

This time, Bailey couldn't hold back her laughter. Cody was on the floor a little disoriented, but when he heard Bailey laughing he looked up. He gave her a wry smile.

"I think I missed my landing..."

Bailey couldn't stop laughing. "I would say so. The French judge is going to take away points."

Cody shrugged and laughed. "Oh well. I guess I'll have to settle for the silver..."

"I wouldn't worry about it." She paused. "Look...I didn't mean to fall asleep last night and take over your bed."

Cody smiled. "Don't you worry about it. After I finished my paper, I kicked back to catch my breath and fell asleep too. So, I know first hand how that happens."

Bailey smiled back. "I appreciate that...And thanks for the blanket."

"That was my old Blankie. My grandmother always told me it would take good care of me and give me pleasant dreams. Hopefully, it did the same for you."

"I think so. I'm pretty sure I had a wonderful dream, but I can't remember any of it."

Cody chuckled. "Don't you just hate when that happens?"

"I do. I should probably be getting our of your hair though. You're probably getting tired of having me around so much."

Cody shook his head. "Mi casa es su casa. You are always welcome here."

"Thanks. I appreciate that."

Cody nodded and laughed. "Of course, I would have to get my own catcher's gear if I told Barbara about this..."

Bailey laughed too. "I would have to borrow it if I told Moose..."

But Cody didn't laugh back. "He wouldn't hit you, would he?"

Bailey paused. She wasn't exactly sure of the answer to that. "I don't know..."

Cody shook his head. "Never an excuse for that..."

Bailey smiled. "Nice to see chivalry isn't dead."

"Its on life support, but I still believe in it."

"Cody, I hope you always do. Nothing wrong with that at all."

Cody nodded. "I'll try...So, breakfast in an hour before class?"

Bailey smiled back. "See you in an hour."

Bailey gathered her laptop and backpack, and headed on back up to her own room. And when she got there, she was thankful to see the ribbon was gone. Opening the door, she walked in and set down her things. She was getting ready to go grab a shower herself when Monica came back into the room in her robe.

"There you are. Sorry about last night. I...ummm...lost track of time."

Bailey laughed. "Its okay."

"You didn't have to sleep in one of the common rooms last night, did you?"

Bailey turned to gather her toiletries. "No, I didn't."

Monica paused and a small smile formed on her face. "Just where did you sleep last night?"

Bailey sighed. "Not that its a big deal, but I fell asleep in Cody's room last night..."

Monica grinned. "About time, Bailey!"

Bailey turned to look at her roommate. "Its not like that. We were both working on papers, and I fell asleep while I was editing mine."

Monica kept grinning. "And where were you when this happened."

Bailey paused. "Stretched out on Cody's bed. But it was very comfortable. He has one of those egg crate pads...And then he put a blanket over me."

Monica let out a small laugh. "Uh huh. Or maybe his bed had his scent on it, and you were comfortable being surrounded by it..."

Bailey shook her head. "Monica, its not like that. Cody and I are just friends. That's all."

"Uh huh. Look, that may be what you are telling yourself, but that's not what everyone else around here sees..."

Bailey frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Bailey...Everyone around here sees you two together. You're thick as thieves." She smiled. "And there are more than a few girls around here who are jealous of you."

Bailey's eyes went wide. "Jealous of me? Why?"

"Like I told you before. Girls have heard stories about how kind and generous he is. Oh, and after last night, its only going to get worse. He had you passed out in his room and behaved like a complete gentleman. You know how rare that is nowadays?"

"Well...I guess so."

"But...if you say you're just friends, so be it. That's your business."

Bailey grabbed her things. "You're right, it is."

As she headed out of the room, Monica just stood there smiling. "I just hope you realize the truth before its too late..."

The next few weeks of classes went by quickly. Cody and Bailey resumed their study practices as they built towards the second round of exams. In their classes, their hard work was paying off in spades. And in their labs, there wasn't a more formidable duo than them. All in all, they both were well on their way to fulfilling the requirements to keep their scholarships with ease.

Early November brought with it the cooling of temperatures, and fall was fully in swing. Bailey was in her room one night preparing for bed when her cell phone began ringing. She picked it up and answered.

"Hello."

"_Good evening, Honey."_

Bailey smiled. "Momma!"

"_How are things going up there at Yale?"_

"Going good. We just finished our second round of exams, and I feel really good about them."

_Eunice smiled. "You still studying with that boy from Boston?"_

"Yes, Momma. Cody and I have a system down that is working."

"_Good. I look forward to meeting this boy you've been spending so much time with."_

"Mom..."

_Eunice smiled. "Come on, Bailey. From what you tell me, you spend almost all of your time with him. He must me a real nice guy for you to do that."_

"Well, he is, and we do have a lot in common."

"_I'm just glad you've made a good friend, Honey. But, the reason I'm actually calling is we have some bad news."_

"What is it? Is it Grammy?"

"_No, she's her old cantankerous self. The thing is, we had to pay to get the tractor fixed. And with that, that took the money we had planned on using to fly you home for Thanksgiving."_

"Oh..."

"_But there is good news. Moose offered to drive up there and pick you up himself."_

Bailey groaned. "As much as I'd like to come home for a few days, I think I'd rather not have to endure a couple of days in a truck with him."

_Eunice smiled. "I understand. I'll just tell him you don't have the time to drive back and forth."_

"Thanks, Momma."

"_Will you be okay there?"_

"Yeah. I'll be fine. The dorms are staying open. I'll just get a head start on studying for finals."

"_We'll definitely see you for Christmas, Bailey. I guarantee that."_

Bailey smiled. "I know, Momma. Don't worry about me."

But Bailey was taking it hard. This would be the first Thanksgiving she wouldn't be spending with her family. In fact, it would be the first Thanksgiving she would be spending all alone. But the thought of being in a vehicle with Moose for two days sent shivers down her spine. Would she be able to make it without killing him first? And she knew Moose would try to get close to her when they stopped for the night. That had absolutely no appeal to her at all.

The next morning, she was still deep in thought. And Cody picked up on this.

"Everything okay, Bails?"

Bailey looked up at him. "Bails?"

"No good, huh?"

Bailey smiled. "No. Its fine. I actually kind of like it."

"So what's wrong then?"

Bailey sighed and relayed the gist of the phone call she had gotten the night before. "So, I guess I'm stuck here over break..."

Cody paused to consider that. "There is a third option..."

"What's that?"

"Well, Boston is only a few hours from here. You're more than welcome to come back with me for Thanksgiving."

Bailey smiled at him. "Really?"

Cody smiled back. "Sure. The more the merrier. And you'd get a chance to meet all of the people I've been telling you about."

Bailey paused. "Would your Mom mind cooking for one more?"

Cody laughed. "Well, since I'll be the one doing the cooking, I don't mind."

Bailey just looked at him. "You?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. My mother is a woman of many talents, but cooking is not one of them. And I spent six years learning at the side of the Tipton Hotel's chef, Chef Paulo. I'm actually pretty good."

Bailey paused to consider that. "Well, if you're sure you don't mind...I'm in."

_To be Continued..._

**AN: My apologies to PSAV for being dragged into this. He has done nothing wrong except have bad taste in colleges to root for. I'm not sure who this LIZ person is or who pissed in her Cheerios today, but I think she's doing a good enough job all her own in making herself look like an idiot. I wasn't aware their was age restrictions for watching Disney. And I didn't realize it was a crime to be a fan of Cailey and daring to respect who the characters are and not butchering them trying to form who I want them to be in sick and twisted ways. Oh well, enough of that. She vowed never to post again, so we'll see how long that lasts. But, it is obvious she loves my stories so much she can't help reading every chapter.**_  
><em>


	7. Back to Boston

_Chapter 7_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The next couple of weeks flew by, and the third round of exams came and went. Yale, in all of their benevolence, actually gave the full week of Thanksgiving off and called it 'fall break'. On that Friday, Cody and Bailey finished their last exam and were taking their time to head back to their dorm.

"A whole week to do nothing. I'm not sure I know what to do..."

Bailey laughed. "I know. I don't think my body would let me sleep in if I wanted to."

"Well, when did you want to leave for Boston?"

"Whenever you do is fine with me." She grinned. "You are my ride after all."

"I was thinking of just sitting back and watching TV tonight. And then do my laundry tomorrow and maybe some early Christmas shopping. How does Sunday morning sound?"

Bailey nodded. "Sounds good to me. I should do some laundry tomorrow too."

"You want to come watch some TV and order a pizza or Chinese tonight?"

Bailey smiled. "Sure. Sounds like good, mind numbing fun."

Cody laughed. "And when you get a chance, make a list of what you want to see while you're in Boston."

Bailey was giddy at that thought. "I know I want to see Boston Harbor and Lexington and Concord definitely..."

Cody smiled. "Excellent choices."

Bailey stopped them. "Thank you again for inviting me to Boston with you. You have no idea who much I appreciate this."

"What are friends for?"

Bailey smiled. "Yeah. Cody, in such a short time, you've become one of my best friends. I don't know if I would have been able to handle Yale if I hadn't had you here with me."

Cody smiled back. "Same here. Having you around has made things so much easier. Now, lets get going. Its starting to get a bit nippy out here."

After a couple of days of just hanging out, Sunday morning arrived. Cody was just finishing packing his bag to head home when there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find Bailey smiling at him with her bag on her shoulder.

"You about ready?"

Cody smiled as he zipped up his bag. "Lets go!"

Once they were on the road, Cody turned to Bailey.

"Now, I should warn you. You're female, so my brother will try to flirt with you. He will flirt with anything with two X chromosomes. So, I hope you won't be offended."

Bailey laughed. "Don't worry about it. After all the stories you've told me about him, I can't wait to meet him. I think Freud or Jung would have a field day with him."

Cody laughed too. "I've been saying that for years."

Bailey smiled at him before she paused to think about something. It wasn't a thought she particularly liked. In fact, it left her with a bitter taste in her mouth, but she wasn't sure why exactly. "Look. I know you'll probably want to spend some time with Barbara. Just let me know, and I'll find something else to do."

Cody paused. "Actually, I was planning on talking to her, but I'm not sure how well its going to go..."

"Oh yeah? Why?"

Cody sighed. "I think its time. You know those questions I haven't wanted to ask myself?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah..."

"I finally asked them. And the answers were not quite what I expected..."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Well, I realized that Barbara and I have really only been dating in name only. I think its time to cut bait and move on. Its not like I'm going to be seeing her any less. I guess if she wanted this relationship to work, she would have tried harder. I've known something was missing for a long time now, but I refused to acknowledge it. Now, I am."

Bailey paused. "What you're doing takes a lot of courage. Stepping out of your comfort zone and daring to see what else is out there."

Cody smiled at her. "Kind of like you leaving Kettlecorn and coming to Yale?"

Bailey stopped to consider that. "Yeah, I guess so. I hadn't thought of it like that though. I saw it as chasing a dream, but I didn't consider that huge risk I was taking."

"Well, if its any consolation, you're kicking that risk in the butt. I hope my decision turns out as well as yours."

Bailey laughed. "Thanks. And I think yours will."

About an hour or so later, the Boston skyline appeared in the distance. Cody pointed it out to Bailey, and she felt herself getting excited. She wasn't real familiar with big urban cities as she had never been to one before. Before that moment, New Haven was the biggest city she had ever been in not counting her layover in Philadelphia. Of course, the traffic she saw almost blew her mind as she had never seen so many cars in one place. And it amazed her how deftly Cody handled it all and eased them into an underground parking garage. Cody turned to her and smiled.

"Welcome to the Boston Tipton."

Bailey just shook her head as they both got out of the car, grabbed their bags, and headed to the elevator. Of course, when they got to the lobby, Bailey was once again blown away. She had never seen anything so elegant before in her life. Everything seemed so fancy, and the people bustling through the lobby seemed to not notice it at all. Cody nodded his head and lead Bailey over to the front desk.

"Hello, Mr. Moseby. I'm back."

Bailey noticed a short, bald man look up and sigh. "I can see that."

Cody grinned. "Mr. Moseby, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine from Yale. This is Bailey Pickett. Bailey, this is Marion Moseby, manager of the Boston Tipton."

Bailey smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you, sir."

Moseby nodded back. "Likewise..." He paused. "You aren't a hooligan too, are you?"

Bailey frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Good." He turned back to Cody. "I thought things would settle down with you off at college. But your brother has maybe even cranked it up some. Even the words 'tried as an adult' don't seem to mean anything to him."

Cody laughed. "Well, we'll try not to cause any problems while we're here. We're ready to rest and take it easy."

Moseby nodded. "I hope so." He turned back to his computer and paused. "Your mother has invited Arwin, London and I to join you for Thanksgiving dinner. May I ask who will be doing the cooking?"

"I will."

"Very well. We'll see you on Thursday then."

Cody shook his head and lead Bailey over to the elevator. Once inside, they made their way up to the 24th floor and then down the hall to the Martin suite. Cody knocked on the door, a minute later, it was answered by a distracted Carey Martin.

"Can I help you?"

Carey looked up and saw who it was and her eyes went wide. She shrieked in joy and immediately grabbed Cody and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"My baby boy has come home!"

Bailey just stood there watching the scene and smiling. Finally Cody was able to break away.

"Mom, this is my friend, Bailey. Bails, this is my Mom, Carey Martin."

"Its a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Martin. Thank you for having me in your home for the holiday."

Carey smiled at the young woman. "Its our pleasure, and its a pleasure to meet you as well. Cody has told me a lot about you, and I'm happy to finally put a face to all of the stories. Thank you for putting up with my son."

Bailey laughed. "Well, Mrs. Martin, he can be a pain sometimes, but he can also be useful to have around."

Carey laughed too. "I like you already. Please, call me Carey. Come on in and get yourselves settled. I hate to meet you and run, but I have to get downstairs for my rehearsal."

Bailey nodded. "Cody told me you were a wonderful singer. If its possible, I'd like to see you perform while I'm here."

Carey grinned. "Okay, I really like her. Stop by tonight if you want."

Bailey turned to Cody who shrugged. Bailey smiled. "Sounds good to us."

"Good. Now, Cody. I told Zack to clean up your room before you got here, but I think we both know what that means."

Cody sighed. "I figured as much. Where is Zack anyways?"

Carey laughed. "After a month of sitting around and watching TV all day, I made him get a job. Needless to say, I think he may be trying community college next semester. By the way, London told me to send you up to her penthouse as soon as you got home. I didn't even bother to ask why."

Cody groaned. "This can't be good..." He turned to Bailey. "You up for meeting London Tipton?"

Bailey smiled. "Sure. Sounds like fun."

Cody and Bailey headed up to the penthouse as Carey headed downstairs. After knocking on the door, the door swung open to find a very agitated London Tipton.

"Its about time!" She grabbed Cody's arm and dragged him into the suite. "You're late!"

Cody looked at London in confusion. "Late for what exactly?"

"Its almost time for my new episode of Yay Me! And Chelsea has been a terrible producer!"

"Hey!"

Cody and Bailey looked over and saw London's friend Chelsea standing there with a hurt look on her face. London ignored her though. "But you're back now, so lets hop to it. Who did you bring for a guest for the show?"

Cody looked at her incredulously. "London! I just got home twenty minutes ago, and I didn't know I was supposed to produce your show today. How was I supposed to know to get you a guest for your show?"

London frowned and looked behind Cody. "Who's the girl in the hideous clothes then?"

Bailey's eyes and mouth went wide in shock. Cody sighed. "London, this is my friend from Yale, Bailey Pickett."

London shrugged. "Not your best work Cody, but she'll do..." London turned and began giving orders to Chelsea.

Cody turned to Bailey. "I'm so sorry about this. I had no idea this would happen."

Bailey smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. Might be fun actually."

Cody smiled back. "Thank you. With London, sometimes its just easier to go along with what she says and get it over with. Besides, you can call your sister and tell her to watch."

Bailey laughed. "Oh, she'll love that..."

Ten minutes later, everything was set and the show began. London's theme song began, and she began to do her dance to it. And as she did, she ran over and dragged Cody out in front of the camera with her. He stood there in surprise, but he looked over to see Bailey laughing. Cody shook his head and went with it. Finally, the theme song ended, and London took her seat.

"Welcome to Yay Me! Starring London. I'm London Tipton. Today is a special episode. My old producer, Cody is back from college and with us again today. So, lets get to our show. First up, we have..." She looked over at Cody.

"London's mailbag..."

London smiled. "That's right! What's our first message say?"

Cody looked down to read it. "It says..." He paused. "Oh no..."

London rolled her eyes. "Spit it out already..."

Cody's voice cracked. "Its says my Codkyins is back in Boston...I can't wait to see him again..."

London frowned. "Who is Codykins?"

Cody shook his head. "Nevermind. How about we skip the rest of the questions?"

London shrugged. "Whatever. Anyways, our guest today is..." She paused. "What was her name again?"

Cody whispered. "Bailey Pickett..."

London smiled. "Haley Pickle..."

Bailey sighed and took her seat. "Actually, its Bailey Pickett."

London smiled at the camera and muttered under her breath. "Like it matters. They're here to see me." She turned to Bailey. "So, you go to college with Cody. That must be truly awful."

"Ummm...No, not actually. Cody is a great guy. On my first day there, he..."

London cut her off. "Moving on, you talk funny. You know that?"

"I was raised in Kettlecorn, Kansas."

London just looked at her. "Fascinating. Okay, back to your clothes. Did you use a mirror this morning or is there no lights in your closet?"

Bailey frowned and looked down at what she was wearing. "What's wrong with them?"

"They're hideous! And your hair? What were you thinking?"

Cody glared at London. "London..."

London turned and looked at him. "What?" Cody just kept glaring. London rolled her eyes. "Fine...I swear Cody, this is the worst episode you've ever produced. You're really starting to lose it." London turned back to Bailey. "So...What exactly is the story between you and Cody anyways? I mean, you both dress bad, both have pasty skin, both have hair that's just...ugh."

Bailey just looked at London. "He's one of my best friends. We study together and hang out together. While I've been so far away from home, he's become the one person I can count on and trust. I'm lucky to have met him and proud to call him my friend."

London rolled her eyes again. "This is boring. Give me something juicy."

Bailey laughed. "Sorry, Miss Tipton. You've come to the wrong place then."

London shook her head. "Talk about worst show ever...I apologize to everyone for today's show. I promise, it will be better next time. If its not, Cody will be fired."

Cody shook his head. "But I quit three months ago..."

Finally, the show came to an end, and London started chastising Chelsea for something. Cody walked over to Bailey.

"Sorry about that..."

Bailey just shook her head. "You put up with this for how long?"

"About four years..."

"I'm nominating you for sainthood then."

Cody laughed. "Thanks, I think...Come on, lets get out here before London realizes we're gone..."

They made their way back down to the lobby and were milling about when Bailey turned to Cody.

"I have a question though. That message that came in seemed to freak you out. What's up with that?"

Cody sighed. "Well..."

But before he could finish, he heard that word and that voice.

"CODYKINS!"

_To be Continued..._


	8. Two Birds with one Bailey

_Chapter 8_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody froze in terror. He was hoping and praying he hadn't heard what he thought he just had. But he slowly turned around, and there she was across the lobby. He would recognize those glasses and that stringy hair anywhere. Of course, Bailey was noticing Cody's reaction, and saw the young woman across the lobby too. She turned to him and whispered.

"Is that Barbara?"

Cody shook his head. "Unfortunately, its not. That's Agnes..."

"Who's Agnes?"

"My stalker. Ever seen the movie Misery?"

Bailey just looked at him incredulously. "Seriously?"

"Yeah...She would never take the hint I wasn't interested. There was nothing I could do..."

By that time, Agnes had made her way across the lobby.

"Codykins! You've finally come back to Momma!"

Cody swallowed. "Now, Agnes...You know you're not supposed to be within 100 yards of me, right?"

Agnes smiled. "Why are you still fighting this, Codykins? I told you to go sow your wild oats and that you'd return to me one day. That day has finally come!"

Bailey just looked at Agnes and realized that she did indeed have a couple of screws loose. And then she looked at Cody and noticed the look of pure terror on his face. So, she decided to do something.

"Cody...Darling...Who is this girl?"

Cody broke out of his stupor and turned to Bailey in confusion. She winked at him, and he understood to play along.

"Sorry...Sweetie...This is Agnes. I went to middle school and high school with her."

Agnes frowned at Bailey. "And who is this?"

Cody was trying to think of what to say, but Bailey beat him to the punch. "I'm Bailey Pickett. I'm Cody's girlfriend." On impulse, she leaned in and planted a big kiss on Cody. Cody was in a stupor again, but this time not because of Agnes. It was because of the surge of electricity that just shot through him. And he wasn't the only one who felt that. As Bailey pulled back, she felt her heart beating faster and a shiver go down her spine. Unfortunately though, neither was given more time to fully think about what just happened as Agnes spoke again.

"Girlfriend? Why didn't you tell me, Cody? I knew you and Barbara had split up, but I didn't know you had a new girlfriend already..."

Cody whipped his head around and looked at Agnes. "What do you mean you knew Barbara and I had split up?"

"Everyone knows. She's been dating Bob since this summer..."

Cody's eyes went wide. "My good friend, Bob?"

Agnes looked at him funny. "Yeah..." She paused. "Ohhhh...You didn't know that part, did you?"

Cody just stood there with all kinds of thoughts bombarding him. The lies, the betrayal...he felt like there had been a knife thrust into his back. He knew he had planned on breaking up with Barbara, but this revelation really hurt. Bailey looked at Cody, her heart breaking for him. She grabbed his hand and lead him over to one of the couches in the lobby and helped him sit back in it. She looked up at Agnes.

"I think you should go. I'll take care of him."

Agnes was about to object, but Bailey gave her a look. So, she nodded and left. Bailey turned back to Cody and saw he had a blank look on his face and was just staring into the distance. She wasn't quite sure what to say though.

"Cody?"

"Uh huh..."

"I'm sorry..."

Cody turned to her. "I have to ask...Do I have the words 'sucker' or 'idiot' printed across my forehead?"

Bailey shook her head. "No, you don't."

Cody shook his head in frustration. "How did I not see this coming? She blew me off all summer and never took of any of my calls. Of course, she had a new guy. And here I was the gullible one. I'm such a loser!"

Bailey grabbed his face and turned it to her. "No, you're not. You trusted her, and she betrayed you. If you ask me, she's the loser here. One day, she's going to regret doing this to you. She's going to realize what she had and threw away. And think of it this way, you're free of that skank now."

Cody sighed. "I guess I am. Just not the way I was expecting to be free of her. I bet she and my good friend Bob probably had a good laugh about how stupid I was. I'll never be able to show my face around here again..."

Bailey paused to think. "What if I said I had an idea?"

Cody turned to her. "Yeah? I'm all ears."

Bailey smiled. "Well, we just fooled that Agnes girl. How about an encore performance?"

Cody shook his head. "I couldn't ask you to do that, Bails."

Bailey kept smiling. "You didn't ask me. I'm volunteered. Besides, she gives women a bad name. I'd like to show her that her behavior is deplorable and completely unacceptable."

Cody gave her a small smile. "While I appreciate that, I don't think your boyfriend would like you doing that in the least."

"If he has a problem with me helping my friend, too bad." She paused. "Besides, I think its time for he and I to have a long way overdue talk too. Cody, since the day I've met you, you've always been there to help me. Let me give you a hand this time."

"You sure?"

Bailey grinned. "Lets go give the performances of a lifetime, and then we can thank the academy with some ice cream."

Cody grinned back. "Alright...Thanks. For everything."

"So, where would Barbara likely to be right now?"

Cody paused. "I'm not sure. I guess I can call her parent's house and see if she's there or find out where she might be."

"Get on it then..."

So, Cody did. And according to Barbara's mother, she was heading to a local coffee shop to meet some friends. Once Cody hung up, Bailey looked at him.

"Well?"

Cody grinned. "How would you feel about getting a cup of hot chocolate?"

Bailey grinned back. "You know, suddenly I do feel thirsty."

Thirty minutes later, they had made their way to the coffee shop. They found a booth in the back that had a clear view of the front door. Sharing the same side of the booth, the each ordered a hot drink and sat there and waited. Cody turned to her.

"You sure you want to do this? If you want to back out, I will completely understand."

Bailey smiled. "Positive. Do you remember our plan?"

Cody nodded. "I think so. You think it will actually work?"

"Trust me. By the time we're done, she'll be begging you for a second chance..."

Cody paused. "You think so?"

"Yeah." Bailey paused. "Are you thinking of taking her back if she does?"

Cody shook his head. "Not a chance. Call me old fashioned, but I believe in the sanctity of a relationship. She cheated on me, and I can never forgive that...I could never trust her again. I mean, I never once even as much flirted with another girl while we were dating. And now that I appear to be single again, I want to avoid girls like her now. If a girl is in a relationship and wants to try to date me, what would stop her from doing the same thing to me later?"

Bailey shook her head. "Nothing. You know what?"

"What's that?"

Bailey was contemplating telling Cody about what Monica had told her about what all of the girls at Yale had said about Cody. But at the last second, she decided against it.

"I'm really proud of the way you're handling this."

Cody smiled. "Thanks. But I'm pretty sure if you hadn't been here, I'd be falling apart right now. So, I definitely owe you one."

Bailey smiled back. "Anytime."

Cody was about to say something when he noticed Barbara and Bob walking in the front door. He swallowed.

"Barbara and Bob just walked in..."

Bailey looked over and saw two people walking in. "Showtime..." Bailey grabbed Cody's hand and began looking into his eyes. Had they always been that blue? Before she got lost in them, she shook her head to focus and whispered to him.

"Just relax. Just keep looking at me. I can see them, but they haven't noticed you yet. Just stay calm. I'll let you know when they do. Hear me?"

Cody looked back into Bailey's eyes. Why had he not noticed how deep brown they were before? And they were full of such warmth and compassion. And then he heard Bailey say his name again, and he nodded.

Bailey kept one eye on Barbara and Bob and noticed they were now looking right at her and Cody. And from the look on Barbara's face, she was not happy. Focusing back on Cody, she smiled.

"You ready?"

"Yeah..."

For the second time that day, Bailey leaned and and kissed Cody. And this one lasted a little longer than the first one. While each thought the other was just playing along, they both were surprised by how much they were enjoying it. Well, they were until they were interrupted again.

"Cody Martin!"

Reluctantly, Cody broke away from Bailey, and turned his head. Standing there was an obviously angry Barbara with Bob standing behind her with a look on his face that said he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"Oh...Hey, Barbara...Hey, Bob..." He turned back to face Bailey, and this time, he was the one who kissed her.

Barbara was fuming. "What do you think you are doing?"

Cody sighed and turned back to face her. "I'm kissing Bailey. What did it look like I was doing?"

"But...but...but..."

"But what? Its been obvious that you didn't think our relationship was exclusive. So, why would you mind me being here with Bailey?"

"What are you talking about? Of course we're exclusive!"

Cody just looked at her. "Really? Is that true, Bob?"

Bob looked away. "Well...ummm...you know, this doesn't involve me, so..."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Anyways. Barbara, I've come to a decision. I'm breaking up with you. I've come to realize there are other fish in the sea. Ones that are sweet, kind, funny, intelligent, a much better kisser..." He grinned. "...and she actually got a full ride to an ivy league school."

Barbara's anger was now gone and replaced by panic and fear.

"But I don't want to break up! I admit, I made a big mistake, but I'm begging you to give me a chance to make it up to you! I'll promise you, I'll never see or talk to Bob ever again!"

This caught Bob's attention. "Excuse me? You told me you were just waiting for the right time to tell Cody about us! You told me you were going to tell him the day he left for Yale but didn't want to break his heart before he left! I can't believe this! Screw you, Barbara!" And with that, Bob turned and stormed out of the coffee shop.

This was going better than Cody or Bailey could have ever imagined. And both were having the hardest times holding back their laughter. But Barbara was undeterred.

"I mean it, Cody. I just want back what we used to have..."

Cody just looked at her. "No thanks. After meeting Bailey, I was able to clearly see just what we did have. Sorry, Barbara...but you just don't compare. Now, if you will excuse us, we're busy doing something before you so rudely interrupted us. Have a nice life..." Cody turned and leaned in to kiss Bailey again.

Barbara just stood there staring at the sight before here. She began crying and ran out of the coffee shop too. Of course, Bailey was the only one to see this. So, she didn't mind having this last kiss last a little bit longer than what was needed. She wasn't sure why, but she was immensely enjoying it and figured it might be the last one she ever got.

Both finally pulled apart though to catch their breath. And when they looked at each other, both busted out laughing.

Cody just shook his head. "Thank you so much for playing along. I just wanted out, but destroying her and Bob at the same time was icing on the cake..."

Bailey smiled at him. "I think we just taught them a lesson they'll both never forget."

Cody nodded. "I hope so..." He paused. "I guess I'm single again for the first time in five years. I have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to do now..."

_To be Continued..._


	9. The Zack Attack

_Chapter 9_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Since they were already in the neighborhood, Cody and Bailey gathered up their drinks and decided to go walking around the Beacon Hill area of Boston. And every time they passed by a place of interest, Cody would point it out to Bailey. Turns out the place they spent the most time at was the former Bull & Finch Pub, now named Cheers Beacon Hill, the basis for the sitcom of the same name. It was one of Bailey's father's favorite shows, so she took some pictures and bought him a few souvenirs for Christmas. Once it began getting dark, they headed back to the Tipton. And back in the Martin's suite, they both fell back into the couch worn out.

Cody turned to Bailey. "Kind of a hectic day, huh?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah...I always heard things moved quickly in the big cities, but I had no idea just how fast."

Cody laughed. "Yeah, I guess they do."

Bailey turned to him. "Are you really okay? I mean, you closed a big chapter of your life today. No one would blame you if you wanted to be alone right now."

Cody paused and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Which is crazy now that I think about it. But it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. And I have you to thank for that."

"Me?"

Cody just looked at her. "Yes, you. Singlehandedly, you fended off Agnes and gave me my dignity and self respect in my breakup with Barbara. And you did all of that in one day. It should be me nominating you for sainthood..."

Bailey smiled. "Just glad I could help. Actually, I..."

But before she could finish what she was going to say, the door to the suite busted open and someone who looked a little bit like Cody ran into the room.

"Broseph! I just ran into Bob who told me you dumped Barbara and were with some smoking hot chick..." Zack noticed Bailey sitting next to Cody. "And you must be that smoking hot chick..." Zack grinned. "Hey, Sweet Thang...I'm Zack, Cody's older, better looking and a lot more fun twin brother..."

Bailey just looked at Zack and then at Cody before she busted out laughing. "Oh my gosh! I know you told me all about him, but I thought you were exaggerating a little bit. Wow..."

Cody laughed with her. "I told you what to expect..." Cody turned to his brother. "Zack, this is my friend Bailey Pickett. We met each other our first day at Yale...Bailey, this is my twin brother, Zack..."

"Nice to meet you, Zack." She turned to Cody. "You were right, you two really don't look that much alike. You're taller and more..." She paused. "...well groomed?"

Cody laughed again. "Thanks..."

Zack frowned. "Hey!" He paused. "Well, looks like I was wrong about Yale chicks..."

Cody turned to Bailey. "The day I left, he told me all women at Yale were either hideous are militant feminists."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Gee...Thanks. Should I got put on my combat boots?"

Cody paused and turned to Zack. "You said you ran into Bob. Am I to take it that my own brother knew what was going on and didn't tell me?"

Zack paused. "Well, yeah, it was pretty obvious. That's why I told you that you should dump her. I was trying to avoid another Irma incident..."

Cody shook his head sighed. "Thanks..."

Bailey turned to him. "Irma incident?"

"Long story..."

Zack laughed. "No, its not. This girl dumped him, and he was a real mess. For a while afterwards, all he did was cry and clean. That's actually how I expected to find." He paused. "How do you do it, Codester? With Irma, you ended up getting comforted and doted on by two hot British twins and now this..."

Bailey laughed. "British twins?"

Cody sighed again. "Another long story..."

Zack shook his head. "My brother has the sweet, sensitive schtick down pat. And for some reason, girls eat that up. Unfortunately, he refuses to use it..."

Bailey smiled. "That's a good thing. You know, girls actually like the sweet, sensitive guys."

Zack frowned. "Not the kind I want. No thank you!"

Cody rolled his eyes. "Anyways, we're going to take in Mom's performance tonight. You want to go with us?"

Zack shook his head. "Not a chance...Besides, I have a date tonight."

"Oh really? With who?"

"She's a freshman at BC. Her name's Maya...I think."

Bailey gave Cody a look asking if Zack was really serious. Cody could only nod. Bailey was about to say something when her phone began vibrating. She pulled it out and looked at it.

"Its my Mom."

Cody nodded over his shoulder. "You can go take it in my old room if you want some privacy."

Bailey smiled at him. "Thanks." And with that, she got up and headed into the twin's room. Once she was gone, Zack grinned at his brother.

"You old dog, you! Making sure you had an upgrade before you dumped Barbara. You really are my brother!"

Cody shook his head. "Its not like that. Bailey and I are just good friends. We're both on scholarship and both pre-med. We have a lot of the same classes, so we study a lot together. And up until an hour ago, I had a girlfriend. Not to mention, she still has a boyfriend back in Kansas."

Zack smirked. "Uh huh. Look me in the eye and tell me you haven't noticed how hot she is..."

Cody paused and sighed. "I won't deny that. But Zack, she's more than just that. She's smart, sweet and fun."

"Let me get this straight. A hot girl who is a brain like you and actually likes and enjoys hanging out with you? What's the problem?"

"I already told you..."

Zack cut him off. "I know what you said. But think about it this way. I fully expected to come home and find you a basket case. But no, you were smiling and talking to her. What does that tell you?"

"Well, it tells me that..."

"No, it doesn't. It tells me you are over thinking things too much again. Quit trying to over analyze everything and look at what's in front of you. You know, it is okay to listen to other parts of your body other than your brain."

Cody just sat there staring at his brother. "Zack. She is in a relationship right now. To me, that means she's off limits. I can't even let myself think about something like that. Besides, she's become one of my best friends. I wouldn't want to ruin that. Besides, all she sees me as is a friend."

In the twin's room, Bailey had answered her phone.

"Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"_I was just calling to make sure you got to Boston okay and see how everything was going."_

Bailey smiled. "We got here a little after noon, and its been interesting so far..."

"_Is everything okay?"_

"Well, Cody found out when he got back here that his girlfriend had been seeing another guy...actually, a friend of his since this past summer."

_Eunice frowned. "That poor boy. How is he handling it?"_

"On the drive up, he told me he was going to talk to her and end the relationship, so in that regard, I think he's fine. But it had to hurt to know what that jezebel had done."

"_I imagine so."_

"But not to worry, we cooked up a plan to get even with her. By the time it was over, she was begging him to take her back. And Cody stood his ground and refused. And he seems to be in a good mood, so I think he'll be okay."

_Eunice laughed. "I bet that was a sight to see, and I'm glad he's alright. Speaking of boyfriends though, Moose was asking about you earlier. He said he had a surprise for you over Christmas."_

Bailey sighed. "And I have one for him as well..."

"_What do you mean?"_

Bailey paused. "If I tell you, this stays between you and me, right?"

_Eunice nodded. "Of course."_

"Well, all semester, Cody and I have been talking about our relationships. And we discovered we were both in similar positions in that we were with people that we both felt we had outgrown. Cody had the guts to do what he knew was the right thing when he saw his now ex. I think its time for me to do the same with Moose. Its time to end what I should have ended a long time ago."

_Eunice paused. "Are you sure, Bailey?"_

"I am. Momma, being out of Kettlecorn has opened my eyes to so many things. And one of those things is that Moose has no place in my life or my plans for the future."

"_Bailey, I have to ask. Does Cody now being single have anything to do with this?"_

"Momma, I won't lie to you. As part of our plan to get back at his ex, I had to kiss Cody a few times. In those kisses, I felt something I had never felt before. Those showed me that I will refuse to settle for less than what I deserve. But Mom, breaking up with Moose isn't because I met Cody directly. I've realized that I've know for a few years that things had changed with Moose but I didn't want to accept it. Having Cody around going through the same thing has made things easier. Being able to stand back at look at things from the outside with his relationship has helped me see what was lacking with mine."

_Eunice chuckled. "That's not what I meant exactly. I meant maybe have you began thinking of Cody as more than a friend?"_

"Oh..." Bailey sighed. "Momma, to be honest, I don't know. Up until today, we were both in relationships, so it was never a possibility and I never considered it. There was that safety that we could become friends without wondering what the other's true intentions were. And yes, I enjoyed those kisses and definitely wouldn't mind more of them. But, he's also become one of my best friends. Being so far away from home, he's been the one person I've been able to be comfortable and myself with. I don't want to lose that...especially when all he sees me as is a friend."

"_Maybe you won't lose it. Maybe he's ready to see you in a new light too?"_

"Maybe, but he also just got out of a long term relationship. I don't think he's even remotely close to being ready to think about getting into another one. And I don't want to be a rebound girl."

_Eunice paused. "Sounds like a little bit of a mess then..."_

"What should I do then?"

"_Bailey, I could try to offer you advice on what will make everything turn out alright, but I won't. All I will tell you is this...follow your heart."_

_To be Continued..._


	10. A Mother's Love

_Chapter 10_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Both of the conversations that Cody and Bailey had were still weighing heavily on their minds, but both did their best to try to forget them or at the least push them to the back. Soon enough, Zack was gone for his date leaving Cody and Bailey alone again in the suite. Of course, it was getting late, and Carey's show was in a couple of hours.

"You getting hungry?"

Bailey nodded. "A little, yeah..." She grinned. "Am I going to see your culinary skills finally?"

Cody laughed. "Well, actually, I was thinking we'd head downstairs and hit the hotel's restaurant. That way, we'd be there for Mom's show when it started."

"Good idea...But can we afford it?"

Cody grinned. "Yeah...Like I said, I know the head chef pretty well. It has its perks."

"Is that so? Well, lead the way then."

So, they headed downstairs. And instead of going into the restaurant, Cody lead her in the back way into the hotel's kitchen. When they walked in, Bailey could see a larger man leering hungrily at a chocolate cake.

"I thought you were cutting down on the sweets?"

The man turned realizing he had been busted. But when he saw who it was, he grinned.

"Cody! My little protege! You're home!"

Cody smiled. "Yeah, home for Thanksgiving break. Chef Paulo, this is my friend, Bailey. Bails, this is my teacher, Chef Paulo."

Bailey smiled at him. "Nice to meet you, Chef Paulo. Cody speaks very highly of you."

Chef Paulo smiled back at her. "Nice to meet you too..." He turned and pulled Cody in to a hug and whispered to him. "Well done..."

Cody blushed but continued smiling. "We're going to take in Mom's show in a bit, but we were hoping you might be able to fit us in before we go."

"But of course! I would be honored if you would both be my special guests this evening."

And so they were. Chef Paulo set them up with a special table in the dining area, and told them not to worry about ordering as he had just the thing for them. And did he ever. He had a meal specially created for them that both found delicious.

Bailey smiled. "I don't think we'll ever find anything like this in the dining hall..."

Cody laughed. "Probably not. Though, if they did, I'd easily find my freshman fifteen."

Bailey laughed too. "I think a lot of people would."

"Well, don't go thinking Thanksgiving dinner will be anything like this. I'm good, but I'm not in the same league as Chef Paulo."

"I'm sure it will be excellent. I bet you're just trying to lower my expectations right now."

Cody grinned. "Great. No pressure then."

"Hey, if it weren't for you, I'd still be back in the dorms and looking forward to whatever the dining hall served that they dared to call turkey."

"Well, I'm glad you're here. Sorry its been so...action packed so far."

Bailey smiled. "Don't worry about it." She teased him. "As long as you make sure the rest of the week is more relaxing."

"I'll try. But, no guarantees." Cody checked his watch. "We have fifteen minutes before Mom goes on. You ready to go?"

"Sure. Lets get moving."

They headed over to the cabaret and found a table in the front off to the left of the stage. And as they were sitting there before the show, Cody noticed someone else come into the lounge and waved him over to them. The man smiled and came over and sat with them.

"Bailey, I'd like you to meet Arwin. Arwin, this is my friend from Yale, Bailey Pickett."

Arwin smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Bailey."

Bailey nodded. "You too. Cody has told me a lot about you."

Arwin paused. "Oh?"

Bailey smiled. "Yeah. I believe there was a laser you helped him build once?"

Arwin laughed. "Oh yeah...Moseby still gets on me for us burning a hole in the wall."

"And I believe some kind of robot you built that almost terrorized the hotel. He says you are a brilliant inventor and an excellent bowler."

Arwin grinned. "Thanks, Cody."

Bailey leaned in and whispered. "He's also the one in love with your Mom, right?"

Cody just nodded.

Bailey was about to say something else when the lights dimmed, and Carey Martin came out on stage. And immediately, Bailey noticed Arwin was looking at her and had a goofy expression on his face. She just shook her head and sat back and enjoyed the show. And Cody had been right – his mother was very talented. Bailey immensely enjoyed the show, and she was one of many who gave a standing ovation when Carey was done.

After it was over, Cody and Bailey waited around for Carey to be done. And they weren't the only ones as Arwin was too. Carey came back out and found the three waiting on her.

"So, how was I?"

Bailey smiled. "That was amazing, Mrs. Martin."

Carey smiled back. "Thank you, but I already told you...call me Carey."

Arwin grinned. "She's right...You were wonderful as always, Carey."

Carey sighed and nodded. "Thank you, Arwin."

"Would you maybe like to go get a drink to celebrate?"

Carey paused trying to figure out how to turn him down gently, but Cody spoke up. "She'd love to. Wouldn't you, Mom?"

Carey glared at her son. "Well...Sure I suppose." She turned to Arwin. "Tell you what. Let me change, and I'll meet you in the hotel bar in twenty minutes."

Arwin had the biggest grin on his face. "I'll go get us the best table they have!" And with that, he was off.

Carey turned back to her youngest son. "Cody..."

"Come on, Mom. Arwin is a good guy. You could and have done a lot worse."

Carey frowned and sighed. "Fine..." She turned to Bailey. "I know exactly what you mean about him being a pain sometimes."

Bailey smiled. "Yet, we both keep him around for some reason."

Carey laughed. "Very true. So, what did London want anyways?"

Cody shook his head. "You don't want to know..."

"Oh?"

Cody paused. "And before you hear it anywhere else, I broke up with Barbara today..."

Carey's eyes went wide and she pulled Cody into a hug. "Are you okay, Honey?"

Cody nodded. "I'm fine, Mom. Actually, I'm very relieved."

"What happened?"

Cody pulled back. "Well, I realized we had grown apart...And then I found out she had been seeing Bob since this past summer."

Carey could feel her anger building. "She was doing what?" She shook her head. "I never did like her!"

Cody smirked. "Gee...Thanks for telling me."

"Cody...How many times did she get mad and hit you or stomp your foot? Instead of celebrating your full ride to Yale, we spent that night in the emergency room!"

"Well, its over now. And I got my revenge thanks to Bailey..."

Carey turned to Bailey. "Oh really? How did you do that?"

Briefly, Cody and Bailey told her of the scheme they had devised. And when they were done, Carey was laughing so hard, she was almost crying.

"Wow..." She turned to Bailey. "I really, really like you now. Thank you for helping my baby boy."

Bailey smiled. "It was my pleasure. If it weren't for him on our first day at Yale, I'd probably still be trying to figure out how to get all of my bags inside. But, he came to my rescue. I was just repaying the favor."

Carey smiled. "Good to see Cody is still the gentleman I raised him to be..." She paused. "I don't know if you've met Zack yet, but I swear, I tried with him too.."

Bailey laughed. "Well, you should be proud of the way Cody turned out."

"I am. Are you sure you're okay though, Cody? I'm sure Arwin would understand if you needed to talk about it."

Cody smiled and nodded. "I'm fine, I promise. Now, you better go change. You have a date waiting on you."

Carey shook her head. "Fine...I just hope he doesn't faint on me again..."

"He only does that when you kiss him. But don't worry, Mom. We won't wait up."

Cody and Bailey headed back up to the 24th floor and decided to just hang out in the suite. Of course, both were surprised to find Zack was home already too.

"I thought you had a date..."

Zack sighed. "I did. This Maya girl was wise to all of my tricks and ideas. I was totally thrown off of my game all night."

Cody smiled. "Back to the drawing board, huh?"

Zack paused. "I don't know. There was something different about this Maya girl. I can't figure out what it is though..."

Cody and Bailey turned to each other and just shared a look.

"Well, good luck with that." Cody smirked. "But don't over think it or try to over analyze it too much..."

Zack glared back at his brother. "I won't...In fact, I think I'm going to bed." And with that, he got up and headed into the twins' bedroom.

Cody turned to Bailey. "It is getting kind of late. If you want, you can change in my Mom's room. While you're doing that, I'll pull the sofa bed out for you."

"Thanks."

Bailey grabbed her bag and went to change. Cody pulled the sofa bed out and then put sheets, a blanket and a couple of pillows on it. When Bailey came out, she walked over to Cody. He turned to her.

"I can't guarantee its the most comfortable thing in the world, but..."

Bailey smiled. "It'll be fine."

Cody nodded. "Okay then...Hey, you like pancakes, right? I'll make some in the morning."

"Sounds good to me."

"Alright, well I guess I should bid you a goodnight then. Sweet dreams, Bails."

Bailey nodded. "You too...Codykins."

Cody just stared at her before laughing. "I'm going to pay for that, aren't I?"

Bailey laughed too. "Oh yeah...That's just too good to pass up."

"Well, after what you did for me today, I won't complain. Thank you again for everything."

"My pleasure." She grinned. "Just be prepared for me to call in the favor one day..."

"Just tell me what you need me to do, and I'll do it. You can count on me."

_To be Continued..._

**AN: I'd figure I'd post an extra chapter today in honor of Mother's Day. And to all of those who post positive reviews to my stories, I thank you. **_  
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	11. Now We're Cooking

_Chapter 11_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The next few days in Boston went by without any of the drama the first day did. Those days were spent with Cody showing Bailey all around Boston and seeing everything she wanted to see. They went to Boston Harbor, to Lexington and Concord, saw Paul Revere's shop, and Cody even took her to see Fenway Park. Bailey was having a blast seeing all of these historic places for the first time, and Cody was having a blast sharing them with someone who appreciated them as much as he did.

Wednesday brought with it another type of trip. This one was to the grocery store. Cody had made a list of things he would need, but when he heard Bailey talking about missing her Grammy's mincemeat pie, he looked up a recipe online and added a few ingredients to his list. Once they had everything, Bailey was surprised to see Cody immediately begin preparing everything the day before.

"What are you doing?"

Cody looked up. "Getting everything ready to be cooked tomorrow." He grinned. "Trust me, I've lived at this hotel long enough, I know that if I waited until tomorrow, something would go wrong."

Bailey laughed. "So, this is to insure you'll have plenty of time when something does go wrong tomorrow?"

Cody shook his head. "Oh no. Because I'm doing this now, nothing will happen tomorrow. But if I didn't, something most assuredly would."

Bailey paused to consider that. "Trying to prevent Murphy's Law then..."

Cody grinned. "Exactly."

Bailey shrugged. "Alright. What can I do to help?"

"Well, how are you at peeling potatoes?"

Bailey grinned. "Pretty darn good if I say so myself."

Cody handed her a small bag of potatoes. "Have at it then. And if you are feeling extra motivated, mash away..."

"I'll have you know my Grammy showed me her extra special way of making mashed potatoes..."

Cody's eyebrows raised. "Oh really?" He teased her. "Any other specialties you want a crack at?"

"I can make a mean stuffing too..."

Cody grinned. "Then prove it. Mi kitchen es su kitchen."

Bailey grinned right back. "Fine. I will."

"Besides, with us doing this today, I have plenty of time to watch the big parade tomorrow..."

"I know, right! I've watched it every year for as long as I can remember." She paused. "Well, there was that one year where my Great Uncle Wilbur had been nipping the cranberry moonshine and the giant Big Bird balloons freaked him out. I had to miss the last half of it trying to chase him down..."

Cody laughed. "Okay...One day, I really have to see your hometown and meet some of these family members you've told me about."

Bailey laughed too. "I think I'd pay to see you handle yourself on a farm, city boy..."

"So, you think I'd be like a fish out of water?"

"I don't think...I know."

Cody paused and nodded. "Probably so. I got a nasty splinter once. And that was in my grandmother's backyard...And the closest I've gotten to growing something is when I successfully cross-pollinated the rhododendron and the periwinkle and called it the rhodowinkle for my senior year science project. "

Bailey smiled. "Yeah...We actually grow things people can eat."

Cody shrugged. "Poh-tay-tow, Poh-tah-tow."

"We grow those too..." She teased him. "And Tow-may-tows and tow-mah-tows..."

Cody laughed. "Should have seen that one coming..."

A couple of hours later, they had everything done and ready to cook the next day. They were about to head out and do something when Cody decided to do one last thing. And it was a good thing he did as they discovered when they got back to the apartment a couple of hours later. Zack was sitting on the couch staring daggers at Cody.

"Why is there a padlock on the refrigerator?"

Cody smirked back. "Because Bailey and I spent all afternoon preparing everything for tomorrow. If I hadn't used the padlock, we would have come back to find that you had ravaged everything."

"Why would I do that?"

"Gee...Let me think. Does two years ago ring a bell?"

"Oh yeah..." Zack shook his head. "Anyways, I have good news. Maya has agreed to go out with me again."

Cody was surprised. "Really? Huh..." He turned to Bailey. "Low self esteem?"

Bailey grinned. "I was going to say daddy issues..."

"Good call..."

Zack rolled his eyes and smirked. "I'm glad you both find this so funny, because I volunteered you both to go out with us on a double date to the movies on Saturday night..."

Both Cody and Bailey snapped their heads back to look at him. "You did what?"

Zack grinned. "You both said that girls like the sweet, sensitive type. Well, I figure if I have you both there, I can just mimic what Cody does and see if you're right. Plus, I can't wait to see how good your acting really is..."

Cody just stood there staring at his brother. "Did it cross your mind to ask us first?"

Zack got up, grabbed Cody and pulled him off to the side. He whispered. "Dude, you should be thanking me. I'm getting you a date with her without it actually being a date. How about showing some gratitude?"

Cody continued glaring at his brother. Zack just kept grinning. "Oh well, I'm off to the game room. Later."

Cody just shook his head as Zack left. He turned to Bailey. "I'm so sorry about that. If you don't want to go, I'll just tell Zack you already had plans."

Bailey smiled. "Nah. Might be fun. Its not like we haven't gone to see a movie before." Plus, she thought to herself, it would be a chance to see how Cody was in a date setting. "Besides, Freud and Jung might not be here, but we can view it like a psychological experiment."

Cody nodded. "True. I bet you didn't expect to have to do so much acting while you were here, huh?"

"Can't say I did, but the first time was a blast, so maybe this one will be too. Maybe we can even teach Zack a lesson in the process?"

Cody grinned. "What do you have in mind?"

Bailey grinned back. "Here's my idea..."

The next day was Thanksgiving, and Cody was up early getting the bird into the oven. And since he was up, he headed out and brought back donuts and muffins for everyone. Of course, when he arrived back at the suite at six in the morning, he wasn't as quiet as he thought he was. He was checking the turkey in the oven when he heard a voice.

"My my...You're up early. Make you could adapt to farm life after all..."

Cody jumped as he was startled. He turned to find Bailey smiling at him. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Yeah, but I'll let it slide. Come Monday, I'll have to start getting up early again."

Cody grinned and held up the bags he had brought up. "Well, I have breakfast here so you don't have to head down to the dining hall."

"I think I can get used to that."

"Well, take your time. We almost have three hours until the parade starts. Unless you want to go back to bed, then I can wake you up before it starts."

Bailey smiled. "Nah, I'm good."

"Well, we have three hours to waste. Any ideas?"

"Hmmmm...Actually, I do. You know what I'm thinking?"

Cody paused. "Do our homework for Monday?"

"Exactly!"

So, for next couple of hours, that's what they did. Of course, every once in a while, Cody had to check on the turkey, but that wasn't that much of a distraction. And they were still doing homework when Carey woke up and came out of her bedroom.

"Good morning."

Both Cody and Bailey looked up. "Good morning."

Carey walked over to them. "What are you two...Homework? But you two are supposed to be on break..." She sighed. "Bailey, I apologize. Cody can be a little enthusiastic about his studies."

Bailey smiled at her. "Actually, Carey, doing our homework was my idea."

Carey just stood there dumbfounded. "It was?" She shook her head. No wonder those two had formed such a strong bond so quickly. She paused. Just how strong of a bond was it? Based on previous breakups, Cody should have been devastated last night. But he wasn't. Was the young woman working along side of him the reason why?

"The bird is already in the oven, Mom. So, everything is taken care of."

Carey snapped back to reality. "Oh...good. Ummm. I think I'm going to go ahead and grab a shower while the bathroom is free. I think I need to fully wake up."

About eight o'clock, Cody and Bailey finished their homework, and they took turns grabbing a shower and cleaning up themselves. And by nine that morning, they were hunkered down in front of the TV watching the parade. As it went on, Bailey turned to Cody.

"Will your brother be upset if we're watching the parade and hogging the TV?"

Cody chuckled. "Doubtful. If he's up before noon, I'll be shocked."

"You two really are like night and day, aren't you?"

"Told you we were..." Cody pointed to the TV. "Hey, look...its Lil' Little performing during the parade!"

Bailey turned. "I love his music. When I was younger, Momma bought me some Lil' Little sheets at a swap meet..." She paused. "Though, they could have been Gary Coleman..."

Cody laughed. "Well, Mom used to get us Lil' Little Vittles all the time."

"Just think. He's the same age we are and look at how much he's already accomplished with his life."

Cody nodded. "True, but you have to ask yourself...is he happy? I mean, from the outside, it looks great. But we don't know what's going on on the inside."

Bailey considered that. "You might be right. What if it was all taken away tomorrow? What would he have then?"

"I don't know. Maybe he doesn't even like the lifestyle? What if he just wants to be a normal guy?"

Bailey shrugged. "Guess we'll never know..."

All through out the parade, Cody began putting other dishes on the stove top. And towards the end of it, the turkey finished cooking, and he could put other things in the oven then. As predicted, Zack finally stumbled out of the bedroom. Immediately, he smelled something good, but Cody denied him access to the kitchen and diverted his attention with chocolate chip muffins.

By four that afternoon, Moseby, Arwin and London had all showed up at the suite. And before long, it was time to eat. Fortunately, the table in the suite was large enough to fit seven people around it. Cody had already carved the turkey, and instead of passing everything, he set everything out buffet style so everyone could get what they wanted. Everyone went through the line and sat around the table.

Cody spoke up. "Bailey, you told me it was a tradition at your house for grace to be said before we eat. We normally don't do that here, but if you'd like to, please do."

Bailey smiled. "Thank you. If everyone would please take hands..." Everyone was a bit surprised by that but did it anyways. Arwin immediate grabbed Carey's hand. Zack and Moseby looked at each other and reluctantly took each other's hand. And of course, neither Cody nor Bailey minded that they had to as well. "Let us all give thanks for this wonderful meal we are about to dine on. Personally, I would like to give thanks for the Martin family who has warmly and graciously welcomed me into their home and treated me like one of their own. I would like to give thanks for all of the new people I have had the honor and privilege of getting to meet in my short time here in Boston. I would like to consider them all now my friends. And I would like to give thanks for my friend, Cody. Being so far away from home for the past few months, he has become a extremely important part of my life. He's been a shoulder to lean on, and my life preserver for me to cling to when I've needed it. Please, bless all of those at this table as we are about to nourish our bodies with this bountiful spread."

Everyone smiled at Bailey before Zack finally spoke up. "Alright, let's eat! I've been waiting almost four months for this!"

_To be Continued..._

**AN: Sorry this is late. The site would not allow me to upload the chapter last night.**_  
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	12. The Double Date

_Chapter 12_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Dinner was excellent, and after it was done, everyone was almost too full for desert. Well almost. After seeing that Cody had gone out of his way to make a mincemeat pie, Bailey knew she had to try a piece. While it wasn't as good as her Grammy's, it was still pretty good. And she did appreciate his effort to have a part of a Kettlecorn Thanksgiving there for her. After they ate though, no one had much energy to do anything. So, they sat around the suite and watched the beginning of holiday specials. Of course, with him getting up so early, it was no surprise that Cody conked out on the couch before long. But, Carey and Zack both looked at each other when Bailey fell asleep too – with her head on Cody's shoulder. Carey gave her oldest a quizzical look, and he shook his head as if to say they'd talk later.

The next day was Black Friday. Kettlecorn didn't really have that bad of one if at all, so Bailey was kind of surprised with the look Cody gave her when she said she wanted to do some Christmas shopping that day. He agreed to go, and not long after they arrived at the local mall, Bailey was understanding his look. She had never seen such a madhouse in her whole life. It blew her mind that people had actually camped out at stores so they could be there when the doors opened. She did manage to find a few things for her family, but quickly decided she'd do the rest of her shopping at the Yale Bookstore.

Returning back to the hotel, they proceeded to rest up and try to just relax on their last free night in Boston. Cody asked Bailey if there was anything else she wanted to see, but she said no. She was quite content to stay there and avoid anymore of the masses.

Saturday was to be their last full day in Boston. The original plan had been to head back Saturday night so they would have all day Sunday to do what they needed for classes the next day. But with their homework already done and Zack's setup, the new plan was to head back early on Sunday morning.

But before their trip to Boston was over, they had to go on Zack's 'double date'. So, neither one felt bad about making Zack make all of the plans for it. Of course, Cody had a pretty good idea of what the evening would entail as he had been on enough double dates with Zack to last a lifetime. And he was correct - the pizza parlor to be followed by the move. Of course, when it was time to finally head out, Cody wasn't surprised that they were going to be taking his car. So, after driving to Chestnut Hill to pick up Maya at her dorm, they proceeded to a local pizza place that the twins used to frequent all the time.

And from the start, Cody and Bailey were impressed with Maya. She seemed to be no nonsense and wouldn't put up with any of Zack's antics. To himself, Cody thought she might be exactly what Zack needed – if Maya didn't kill him first. So, they were sitting in the pizza place with Zack and Maya on one side of the booth and Cody and Bailey on the other.

"So, Zack tells me you are both freshman at Yale, and that's where you two met..."

Cody smiled. "That's right. I had to go all the way to New Haven to meet my little Bailey Bunny..."

Bailey almost spit out her drink when she heard that. But, part of their plan was to play this up as much as possible.

"And I had to come halfway across the country to meet my Cody Kitten..."

This time, it was Cody who almost choked on his slice of pizza.

Maya was oblivious though. "That's so cool. You guys met in August and are already so close to give each other pet names...and I do mean pet names."

Bailey smiled. "Well, with both of us being pre-med and having a lot of classes together, we spend a lot of time together studying. It just happened."

Zack decided to have some fun with them. "So, tell us about the time when you both knew though..."

Cody paused. "Well, I would have to say it was the night Bailey got locked out of her room..."

Bailey continued. "Not locked out exactly. My roommate tied a ribbon around our doorknob indicating she wanted some privacy with her boyfriend..."

Maya sighed. "I've already been caught by that one too. It sucked...Addison and I had a long talk after that."

Bailey nodded. "I know. And being so far from home, the only person I knew well enough to go to was Cody. And he welcomed me into his room so I wouldn't be out in the cold."

Cody picked it up from there. "Well, we were both working on papers, me at my desk and Bailey stretched out on my bed. Next thing I knew, she had fallen asleep. I got up to get her a blanket, and I could help myself. I sat there watching her sleep and that's when I knew..."

Maya smiled. "Awww..."

Bailey smiled too. "And when I woke up the next morning, I looked over and saw Cody asleep in his desk chair. He was snoring softly and drooling a little bit, but it was the most adorable thing I had ever seen. Plus, knowing that he had been such a gentleman by letting me stay there, by letting me have his bed, by putting the blanket on me and by sacrificing his own comfort to let me sleep really meant a lot to me. I realized I had a special guy on my hands..."

Zack just studied them both. For some reason, he didn't thing their story was entirely made up. But, he turned back to Maya. "So, you see, the men in my family to know how to treat a lady..."

Maya paused and narrowed her eyes. "No, what we know is that your brother does. The jury is still out on you." She turned to Cody. "You've known your brother your whole life. Be honest with me. Does your brother know how to treat women?"

Cody sat there for a minute noticing his brother give him a pleading look. Finally, he spoke. "Well, I would say it depends on the girl. My brother needs someone who will challenge him. Someone who will make him want to be a better guy. I think that somewhere inside him is a good, decent, sensitive, romantic guy. But, I think he's suffered some rejection that's hardened him..."

Zack's eyes went wide wondering what Cody was talking about.

"You see, when we were younger, there was this girl who used to work the candy counter at the Tipton named Maddie..."

Zack began laughing nervously. "Cody...You don't have to talk about her."

Cody continued. "She was three years older than us, but Zack had a crush on her. And all the time, he would get shot down by her. But he never gave up, and he hung in there. Early on in our sophomore year of high school, Maddie actually agreed to go out with him..."

Zack glared hard at his brother. "Cody..."

"But it turned out to be a night of disasters. Zack thought it went well, but at the end of the night, Maddie told him she had fun but that she was transferring colleges to one on the west coast. So, that night would be the last night they would see each other. Zack was in shock, but he was set to move out to California when he graduated. But that was until we got the wedding invitation in the mail. Seems she ran into her old boyfriend Trevor, and they rekindled their relationship. I think that had an effect on Zack that he never got over. I think he's been afraid to put his heart out there again. But, I think if someone is patient enough with him, they will reap the rewards that Zack can offer."

Maya had been intently listening to Cody's story, and when he finished, she looked over and saw Zack holding his head in his hands. She turned back to Cody. "Thank you for your honesty. It certainly gives me a whole perspective on things."

She turned to Zack. "No need to be embarrassed, Zack. Everyone gets their heartbroken at one point or another. There must be a sensitive side to you if those scars are still there. Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go freshen up in the ladies room." And with that, Maya got up.

Zack lifted his head and glared at his brother again. "I hope you know I'm going to kill you now!"

Bailey shook her head. "You don't get it, do you? Do you have any idea how much Cody just helped you right then? While you may screw up now, Maya at least knows why and will be more likely to cut you a little slack."

Zack sighed. "And in the process, made me look like a wuss!"

Cody shook his head. "Didn't you want us to help you look more caring and sensitive? That's what we did..."

"Well, I was hoping to look more manly as compared to you. I mean, I already am, but I figured by seeing us side by side, it would be even more obvious..."

Cody sighed. "Thanks, Zack..."

Zack paused. "And why do I get the impression that story you two told wasn't made up?"

Bailey turned to Cody before looking back at Zack. "Because, most of it actually did happen. Remember, you're the one who wanted us to play along. How we do that is up to us..."

Cody nodded. "Exactly. We're here to make you look good. Don't complain about the methods we use."

Bailey turned to him. "Speaking of which...Bailey Bunny? Where did that come from?"

Cody laughed. "Oh...from the pajamas you were wearing the other day. Those and the bunny slippers made it it too easy...And Cody Kitten?"

Bailey grinned. "Well, you started with the animals, and kitten is the first one that popped into my mind..."

"Fair enough..."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Remember, you two are just pretending..."

Cody and Bailey turned to face him. "We know."

Soon enough, Maya returned to the table. Everyone decided they had enough pizza and were ready for the movie. After agreeing to which movie to see, Zack and Cody agreed to wait in line to buy the tickets.

Cody gave Bailey some money. "Here, Sweetie. Why don't you go get us a bucket of popcorn to share?"

Bailey smiled. "No butter or salt, right? You know, cut down on sodium and transfats."

Cody smiled back. "You know the way I like it..."

Zack took the cue and gave Maya some money as well. And once the ladies had headed inside, Zack turned to his brother.

"You ready to admit it yet?"

"Admit what?"

"That you're enjoying pretending Bailey is your girlfriend. And the weird thing is she seems to be enjoying it too. You know, you could make it a reality..."

Cody sighed. "Zack, I've explained this to you before. Leave it alone. For the last time, drop it."

"If you say so..."

The guys got the tickets and met the girls inside. They made their way into the theater and found some seats. Zack was on one end, and Cody was on the other. Without thinking, Cody slid his arm behind Bailey. And equally without thinking, Bailey snuggled up closer to Cody and laid her head on his shoulder. The entire movie, Zack kept stealing glances at them and shaking his head. No matter how much they pretended like they were playing along, he knew something else was going on.

When the movie was over, they all drove Maya back to Chestnut Hill. And she asked Zack to walk her up to her room. And as he did, Cody and Bailey sat in the car and waited.

"He might not say it, but I know Zack appreciates you playing along. And I do too. I may give him a hard time, but I do want to see him happy."

Bailey smiled. "Don't worry about. I had fun. But what happened to our plan? You threw me off when you made your speech about Zack."

Cody paused. "I had a change of plan. For some reason, I think he really likes this one. So, I figured I'd go with the truth."

"Well, while he may not appreciate it right now, that was a very sweet thing you did for your brother."

Cody had a wry smile. "I guess us Martin brothers are pretty messed up when it comes to women, huh?"

"I wouldn't say that. You've both been the victims of bad luck. But you never know when good luck will shine down on you."

"Maybe...Actually, I..."

But before he could finish, the back door opened and Zack climbed it.

"You guys were right! She asked me out for next weekend...and she kissed me when I said goodnight!"

_To be Continued..._


	13. Finally Coming Home

_Chapter 13_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody and Bailey both turned around to see a very excited Zack. Then, they both turned and gave each other a knowing look.

"Congrats, Bro. Good for you."

Bailey nodded. "Hopefully, you learned something tonight."

Zack looked at them. "I'm not even thinking about that right now. But, I'm too wired now to care! Where to next?"

Cody shook his head. "You have nothing to do tomorrow, but Bailey and I have a long drive back to New Haven. We have classes Monday and finals quickly approaching."

Zack sighed. "Fine. Maya did say she would love for the four of us to hang out together again though..."

Bailey smiled. "Tell you what. You don't screw things up with her, and Cody and I will think about it."

Cody just gave her a questioning look, but Zack continued on. "How does New Year's Eve sound?"

Cody shook his head. "Ummm...Zack, over Christmas break, I think Bailey will be back home in Kansas. Not that she wouldn't be welcome back here in Boston, but I think she wants the chance to see her family again."

Bailey nodded. "Cody's right. But, maybe we can work something out before school starts back?"

"Maybe so..." Cody turned back to Zack again. "Speaking of school, you given any more thought of continuing your education?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Its been a good night for me, don't ruin it."

The next morning, Cody and Bailey were both up early again and packing up ready to get on the road. As they were finishing packing their bags, Carey came out of her bedroom. Seeing what they were doing, she frowned.

"You guys are leaving already?"

Cody nodded. "Sorry, Mom. We have things to do when we get back."

Carey sighed and walked over and hugged her youngest. "I just got you back though."

"I'll be back for Christmas, Mom. This time, it'll only be a few more weeks."

"It better be..." She finally let go of her son.

Bailey smiled at Carey. "Thank you again, Mrs...Carey for welcoming me into your home. I truly appreciate you kindness and hospitality."

Carey smiled back at her. "Bailey, its been our pleasure to have you here. I hope you know you are welcome here anytime." She leaned in and gave Bailey a hug too.

"Thank you. You've all made me feel like one of the family this week. I will never forget this."

Carey finally let her go. "I know you both have to be leaving, but I was hoping you would do me a favor, Bailey..."

"Name it."

She tussled Cody's hair. "Keep an eye on this one for me, will you? I'd feel a lot better knowing he had someone watching out for him."

Bailey grinned. "Consider it done."

Carey turned to her son. "And you...I expect you to keep an eye on her too." She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "This one's special. I hope you realize that."

Cody sighed and nodded. "I'll do my best."

Finally, it was time for Cody and Bailey to make their departure. On their way out, they waved goodbye to Arwin and Moseby. Once in the car, they were back on the road. And like he had the first time he drove to New Haven, Cody took the southern route so Bailey could see the Atlantic Ocean. It was about eleven in the morning when Cody pulled into a parking space outside of Vanderbilt Hall. Popping the trunk, he grabbed their bags out of it.

"Hey...thanks again. I know that wasn't exactly the week of rest and relaxation that you were expecting..."

Bailey smiled. "Don't worry about it. I had a blast in Boston. It was fun getting to put faces to all of the people you've been telling me about..."

Cody smiled back. "We're kind of a crazy bunch..."

"Nah...You're normal. On the farm or in cities, all families are the same deep down. I was raised to think hospitality was something only us small town people did, but your family proved that to be false. You have a wonderful family and friends."

"Well, I think they were all taken with you as well." He teased her. "If this past week hasn't scared you off of Boston forever, you are welcome back anytime."

"Thanks...What about you though? You're now a single guy here on campus..."

Cody paused. "That's...that's the farthest thing from my mind right now." He grinned. "Besides, we have finals to begin prepping for. When do you want to start?"

Bailey checked her watch. "Its 11:15 now. Why don't we meet for lunch in an hour and we can start afterwards?"

"Works for me. My room or the library?"

Bailey automatically answered. "You're room." She paused realizing she had spoken so quickly. "You know, keep us out of the cold and we can study in our pajama pants or sweats and not have to worry about anyone caring..."

Cody nodded. "True. Alright, see you in an hour."

Bailey took her bag and lugged it back up to her room. And to her surprise, Monica was already back as well. As Bailey dropped her bag on her bed, she turned to her roommate.

"Did you have a good break?"

Monica smiled. "I did. It was good to get away from this place for a while. How about you? How was Thanksgiving in Boston with Cody?"

"It was a lot of fun. His family welcomed me in like I was one of their own."

"Good..." Monica paused. "What did you do when he went to hang out with his girlfriend? And how did she handle it that he brought another girl home with him?"

Bailey turned to begin unpacking her bag. "Well..."

"What?"

Bailey sighed and turned around. "Cody broke up with her our first day there. He was going to do it anyways, but he found out she had been cheating on him..."

Monica shook her head. "Poor guy...I bet he felt horrible."

Bailey nodded. "He did at first, but we came up with a plan to get payback on her."

"What did you do?"

Briefly, Bailey explained what happened. "And she ran out crying..."

Monica grinned. "Okay, be honest. What was kissing him like?"

Bailey paused. "Well..."

Monica grimaced. "That bad, huh?"

Bailey quickly shook her head. "No, not at all...Quite the opposite actually."

Monica grinned. "So, he's a good kisser, huh?"

Bailey sat back on her bed and nodded. "Yeah, he is...I felt this spark shoot through me."

"Well, he is single now..."

Bailey shook her head. "But I'm not...yet."

Monica smiled. "I'm impressed. His kisses are so good you're going to dump your boyfriend. Maybe I should loose my mine for a while and find out for myself..."

Bailey just glared at her.

"I'm kidding, Bailey."

Bailey sighed. "Its okay. I actually decided to break up with Moose before I kissed him the first time. It just sealed the deal..."

"What are you waiting on then? Give this Moose guy a call, dump him, and go back downstairs and get your guy!"

Bailey rolled her eyes. "You sound just like my Mom."

"Good for her. She knows what's going on and she's never seen you two together."

"One, I want to do the right thing and break up with him in person. Two..." She paused. "What if Cody doesn't feel the same way? What if he just sees me as a friend? He's been my lifeline here at Yale. I don't want to do anything to ruin that. Plus, he's just out of a long term relationship too. He's not ready..."

Monica paused. "Maybe not...Or...Maybe he's spent so much time with another woman that he realized that's where his heart was. Maybe he was going to break up with her because he's fallen for you?"

Bailey shook her head. "While that would be nice, Cody said something else. He was hurt that Barbara had cheated on him. He said now that he was single, girls already in relationships were off limits. If they were already in one and would go out with him, what would stop them from doing the same thing to him?"

Monica nodded. "I see your point...and his."

"Yeah..."

"So, what are you going to do?"

Bailey shrugged. "There's nothing I can do..."

Monica shook her head. "But this isn't right! This isn't fair!"

Bailey sighed. "Sometimes, life isn't fair..."

"I don't believe that. Bailey, look at me." Bailey looked up. "You don't have to answer me, but be honest with yourself. How do you really feel about Cody?"

Bailey sat there and thought. Flashbacks of memories of the times they had shared flashed in her mind. All the laughter and all the conversations. The level of comfort she felt with him and the hatred she had at Barbara for what she had done. All the smiles they had shared and how he made her feel like she could just be her. All of the kindness and consideration he had shown her. And those kisses...Bailey closed her eyes. Those kisses has knocked her for a loop. And how she knew she wanted more and more. And suddenly, her eyes flew open. As much as she had tried to push it away and fight it, it was right there in front of her. She had fallen in love with Cody Martin.

_To be Continued..._


	14. Hide and Seek

_Chapter 14_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The rest of that day, Bailey did meet up with Cody for lunch and to study, but she was a lot quieter than usual. Now that she had had her realization, she didn't quite know what to say around him any longer. And Cody noticed this. He wanted to ask her if everything was okay, but he figured she would open up on her own time. So, he would just occasionally watch her to see if he could see if she was ready to talk. Bailey had seemed so chipper and upbeat in Boston and on the drive back, so he was getting kind of worried. So, finally, at dinner that night, he finally couldn't take it any longer and asked.

"Bails?"

Bailey looked up. "Yeah?"

"Is everything okay? You just seem subdued today..."

Bailey nodded. "I'm fine. I...ummm...I talked to my Mom when I got back. Seems my Grammy isn't feeling that well, and I'm worried about her." Internally, she sighed. She hated lying to him.

Cody was really concerned now. "Is she going to be okay? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Bailey smiled at him. "Yeah, I think she'll be fine. And I appreciate your concern, but we aren't doctors yet..."

Cody nodded. "Well, if there is anything I can do, let me know. I'm here for you. You know...my own grandmother passed away several years ago due to an illness. So, I know what that's like to worry. If you need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Bailey gave him a sad smile. "Thank you." She would love to talk to him, but she was afraid of what he would say. So, she decided to change the subject. "You think we'll be prepared for finals?"

Cody actually realized she was trying to change the subject, but he just didn't know what subject she was trying to avoid. "Yeah, I think so. I mean, if we follow our routine, we should be fine." He grinned. "If I may say, we've dominated with it so far."

"Yeah, we have. We make a pretty good team."

Cody smiled. "I agree."

That night, Bailey tossed and turned. Once she had admitted to herself what the truth was, she couldn't think of anything else. She kept thinking to herself that there had to be some way to make it work. But no matter what plan she came up with, she always found what she perceived to be a fatal flaw with the idea. In frustration, she groaned and wished it was the end of the next semester so they would both have distance from the end of their relationships. And that's when she sat up straight in her bed. Distance. That's what she needed. By May, enough time would have passed for her to be able to tell Cody how she felt about him. He would be long broken up with Barbara, and she would be long broken up with Moose by then too. In six months, she could finally go after what she wanted. And with that comforting thought, Bailey was able to finally get some rest.

But she wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping. Cody was tossing and turning too. He tried to sleep, but he kept thinking of everything Zack and his Mom had told him. Of course he knew Bailey was special. Only an idiot couldn't see that. And yes, she was gorgeous. But there was so much more to her than that. It was just like he told Barbara, she was sweet, kind, funny, intelligent, a much better kisser...Cody groaned. Was she ever a much better kisser! Never before in his life has he felt anything like those. It was like something had set him on fire. In the five years he dated Barbara, he had never come close to feeling anything like that. But Cody shook his head. He knew he shouldn't be thinking those thoughts. Bailey was still in a relationship and therefore off limits. Of course, he had to remind himself that she had talked about breaking up with Moose. But, she hadn't yet. And even if she did, would she laugh in his face if he told her...what? What would her tell her? That he...that he...Cody buried his face in his pillow and groaned. How would she react if he told her that he had fallen in love with her? That his mind was constantly filled with the memories of those kisses. The whenever he was around her, he felt completely alive. That she was the reason that breaking up with Barbara hadn't bothered him any. Cody shook his head. He couldn't do that. She only saw him as a friend, a safe harbor when she was so far away from home. If he loved her as much as he thought he did, he could never hurt her like that. Cody knew that he would have to accept that having her as his friend was better than not having her in his life at all. And he wasn't about to risk losing her from his life.

The next morning, they both met up with each other for breakfast as per their normal routine. This time, it was Bailey who was in much better spirits, but Cody was the one who was subdued. And this time, it was Bailey's turn to ask.

"Cody? Is everything alright?"

Cody looked up at her. "Oh...Yeah, fine. I was just thinking about...ummm..." Cody looked around for anything to use as a diversion. And that's when he saw it. "Oh, I was just thinking about the headline in today's school newspaper..."

Bailey grabbed the paper and looked at it. And her eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh!"

Cody looked at her again. He really should have read that headline.

Bailey just shook her head. "I can't believe this. A girl was attacked leaving the library last night. This is horrible."

Cody frowned. "Yeah...horrible."

"I'm glad we decided to study in your room instead...That could have been us."

Briefly, Cody let the thought of Bailey being the one who had been attacked enter his mind. But, quickly, he blocked that thought. He didn't want to even think about the possibility. And he knew he had to do something to make sure that it never became one.

"Bails, if you are ever on campus late at night, call me and I will come escort you back to the dorm."

Bailey smiled at him. "That's very sweet of you, but I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

Cody sighed. "I know you can, but if you won't do it for you, would you do it for my peace of mind? If something happened to you..."

Bailey just smiled. It warmed her all over to see his concern for her. And if something this minor would make him feel better, then of course she would do it. "Alright, Cody. If I'm out late, I'll call you."

Cody smiled back. "Thank you. Speaking of late though, we better hurry or we will be too."

That week was to be the final week of classes at Yale, and the week after was designated a 'reading week' with finals starting that Saturday. Cody and Bailey completed their classes in the same matter they had been all semester - fully prepared. Of course, that brought with it the completion of their labs, and that left them only four classes they had to study for finals. That weekend, they holed themselves up in Cody's room studying for their biology final. Monday was to be a break as they each studied for their one class they didn't share, but Tuesday brought them back together to study organic chemistry. And they decided to use the library so each would have a hard writing surface.

Close to midnight, they had finished studying for the night and were heading out of the library. As they did, Cody checked his backpack.

"Dang it!"

Bailey smiled and turned to him. "What?"

Cody sighed. "I think I left my scientific calculator back where we were studying. Wait right here, I'll be right back!"

Cody ran back inside the library as Bailey just shook her head and laughed. She walked over to a bench and sat down to wait on him. Well, that was her plan...until she felt something poke into her back.

"You scream, and you die! Just stand up and keep walking until I tell you to stop..."

Bailey swallowed, but she did as she was told. She began walking not daring to even turn around. She was scared to death as all kinds of thoughts ran through her mind. Would she ever see her family again? What was this guy going to do to her? And would she ever get to tell Cody how she felt about him? But her thoughts we interrupted when she no longer felt the object pressed against her back.

She turned and saw who she believed to be her attacker rubbing his eyes and screaming out in pain. And there in front of her was Cody holding some small object in his hands.

"Cody!"

Briefly, Cody glanced at over at her. "Are you alright, Bails?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah...thanks to you!"

"Run back to the library and try to get security out here ASAP!"

Bailey nodded and ran as fast as she could back into the library. Immediately, she saw a library security guard and ran up to him. She quickly told him what happened and implored him to follow her. Fortunately, he did and was on his walkie talkie as he ran behind her. And when she got back, she found Cody sitting on the guy's back trying to hold him down.

The security guard pulled Cody off before he took custody of the man himself. And before long, a campus police car pulled up with its lights flashing. The officers quickly cuffed the man, Mirandized him and then got Cody and Bailey's statements.

"So, you saw him marching Miss Pickett here away and you knew something was up?"

Cody nodded. "Yes, sir. We had both saw the article in the paper, and I feared it was the same guy."

The officer nodded. "So, did you get him with mace?"

Cody shook his head. "No, bear repellant. Once I read the article, I started carrying it around with me just in case."

The officer turned to Bailey. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Cody showed up before he could do anything."

"Alright, well, we'll take things from here. We have your statement and a number to contact you at. Do you have someone to walk you back to your dorm?"

Cody spoke up. "I'm going to, sir."

The officer nodded. "Good." He smiled at Cody. "Good work tonight. That was a very brave thing you did trying to save your girlfriend."

Cody was about to correct him when Bailey spoke up. "Yes, it was. Come on, Cody. Lets go home."

Cody just nodded and followed Bailey.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You showed up not too long after he began marching me away."

Cody reached into his pocket. "Here, you carry this on you from now on."

Bailey took the small can and paused. "Why did you have bear repellant anyways?"

Cody shrugged. "You never know when it will come in handy."

Bailey just laughed. "If you say so. All things considered, I'm glad you did have it on you."

Finally, they got back to Vanderbilt Hall, but Cody actually walked her all the way up to her room. Outside her door, Bailey turned to him.

"Thank you again. I owe you...well...I owe you my life."

Cody shrugged. "I'm just glad I was there. I would never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to you."

"Its over now, and I'm fine. Thanks to you." She smiled. "Just don't forget your white horse next time"

Cody smiled back. "From now on, we study in my room."

Bailey smiled back at him. "Deal..." She paused and then just did it. She leaned in and gave Cody a peck on the lips.

"Thank you again, Cody. Goodnight."

Bailey slipped into her room, and Cody just stood there putting his hand up to his lips.

"So worth it..."

_To be Continued..._


	15. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

_Chapter 15_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The rest of 'reading week' went by without any further drama. The next day, Cody and Bailey stopped by the campus police station to give their statements to put the situation to bed. And fortunately, Bailey's brush with danger didn't have a negative impact on her. In fact, it was just the opposite. Cody had come to her rescue, and due to that, she felt even safer when she was around him. And it if it was possible, his act of bravery had endeared him to her even more. Of course, this was something Monica couldn't help but notice. Of course, it wasn't that difficult as Bailey was laying in her bed with the goofiest grin on her face.

"Dang, Girl...You got it bad!"

Bailey looked over at her roommate. "Huh?"

"You were almost attacked the other night, but all you can think about is your knight in shining armor that came to your rescue."

Bailey smiled to herself. That was twice now that Cody had been referred to in that way.

"You finally admitting it now?"

Bailey looked over again and paused. "Yeah, I am. I've fallen for him."

Monica threw her hands up. "Hallelujah!"

"Okay, okay, you were right..."

"So, what did Cody say when you told him?"

Bailey paused. "Well...I haven't yet. I'm going to wait until the end of next semester. That way, he has plenty of time to get over his break-up, and I have time to break-up with Moose and make Cody think I've had enough time to get over him. But, in reality, I've long been over him."

Monica groaned. "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard. You're hot for him, he's hot for you. Just tell him already!"

Bailey gave her a curious look. "Why do you think he's 'hot for me'?"

"Gee, let me think...He risked his life to save yours. I would say that's a good indication that he has feelings for you..."

Bailey sighed. "That would be nice, but I can't risk it right now. I need to stick to my plan."

"I swear, Bailey...If I have to deal with this for the next six months, I'll..." But before she could finish, there was a knock at their dorm room door.

Quickly, Bailey got up to answer it, and she found Cody standing there holding a very large wrapped gift.

"Cody...Come on in."

Cody smiled at her. "Actually, I just had something I wanted to drop this off for you. I was going to give this to you for Christmas, but I thought you might find it useful during finals."

Bailey smiled back at him. "Awww...Thank you. But you didn't have to get me anything."

Cody shrugged. "Well, the deed is already done."

Bailey shook her head but accepted the gift anyways. She unwrapped it, and she began to chuckle when she saw what it was. "You remembered..."

"Well, you did say you were going to add it to your Christmas list..."

Monica walked over to see what it was. "A foam egg crate mattress pad?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah. Cody has one on his bed, and its the most comfortable thing in the world." She turned and smiled again at Cody. "This was very sweet of you...Codykins."

Cody rolled his eyes. "I was hoping you had forgotten that..."

"Not a chance! But, I was planning on getting you something too, but I was planning on waiting until finals were over."

Cody shrugged. "No big deal." He checked his watch. "Well, I have to be getting to a study session for my other class. See you later, Bails."

Bailey walked Cody to the door, but when she turned around, she found Monica staring at her again.

"What?"

"You mention something one time to him that you want and he remembers. I've practically been hitting my boyfriend over the head with what I want, and he appears completely clueless..."

Bailey smiled. "Maybe he's just playing dumb?"

"I can only hope." She sighed. "If this doesn't tell you..."

Bailey cut her off. "Actually, I have a bigger problem I need help with now. What should I get Cody for Christmas?"

Monica smirked at her. "I know just the thing. You can tell him how you really feel about him!"

Bailey sighed. "I told you why I can't right now..."

Monica shook her head in frustration. "Fine...Grab your purse. We're going shopping."

Finals began that Saturday, and they were more grueling and extensive than anything anyone had ever faced before. And Cody and Bailey were loving every minute of them. Thanks to all of their work together, both felt well prepared and confident going into them and coming out of them. And when they turned in their organic chemistry final, both officially had a semester of college under their belts. And as they both walked out of it, both were in good moods.

"Wow...I'm glad those are done now!"

Cody nodded. "You and me both. Time to relax and take it easy." He laughed. "And begin packing to head home for Christmas..."

"Tell me about it. And another chance to deal with public transportation to the airport..."

Cody turned to her. "When's your flight home?"

"Saturday morning."

"I'm heading home Saturday too. I can give you a lift to the airport if you want."

Bailey smiled. "You sure? You don't mind?"

Cody smiled back. "Not at all. And when you're ready to fly back, just give me a call and tell me when you're going to be arriving, and I'll pick you up."

"Cody, you are a lifesaver!"

Cody shrugged. "Nah...I just have a car here."

After having a couple of days around New Haven to relax, Saturday morning arrived. Cody already had his things packed up and loaded into the back seat of his car. Then he did one more sweep of his room to unplug everything in case of a power surge over the break. Once done, he headed up to Bailey's room and knocked on the door. After hearing a 'Come in!', he opened the door to see Bailey flying around her room packing things away into her bags.

Cody smiled. "Anything already to take down to the car?"

Bailey paused and pointed to two bags. "Yeah, those."

After taking those down and putting them in the trunk, Cody returned back to Bailey's room to see that she had two more large bags along with her backpack.

Cody teased. "You are planning to come back, right?"

Bailey whipped her head around but saw Cody was smiling. She sighed. "I'm over packing, aren't I?"

Cody shrugged. "Hard to say. Only you will know exactly what you need over break."

"True..." She smiled. "Okay, I'll leave my trunk."

Cody teased her again. "My back thanks you..."

Bailey laughed. "To be fair, two of the bags are filled with Christmas presents. Having such a big family can really come back and bite you around Christmas time."

Cody laughed too. "I imagine so." He picked up one of the other bags, but struggled with it. "What are you giving everyone, laundry rocks?"

Bailey just shook her head. "What kind of person would give someone a laundry rock for a gift?"

Cody paused. "I don't know. Maybe if it had a smooth side for delicate items..."

Bailey just looked at him.

"What?" He grinned at her.

She shook her head again. "I think you're still slap happy from finals..."

"Probably. What about you though? You can't tell me you're not excited to finally see your family again."

Bailey smiled. "I am. I can't wait to see everyone and then see all the animals on the farm again." She paused. "I wonder if they still remember me..."

"I'm sure they're as anxious to see you as you are to see them."

"I hope so..."

Cody smiled. "Well, the sooner we get out of here, the sooner you'll see them."

"Yeah..." She looked around her room one last time. "You know, its weird. I know I'm only going to be gone a few weeks, but I'm going to miss this place." She turned to Cody – the one thing she was really going to miss the most.

"I know what you mean. In such a short time, this place has become a part of me." He wished he could tell her that it was really her that had become a part of him. "Come on, lets get you to the airport."

Once they loaded the last of Bailey's bags, they were off. Making their way to the New Haven airport, Cody parked the car in short term parking. Before they headed inside though, Bailey stopped him.

"Before I head off, there's something I want to give you..." She reached into one of her bags and pulled out a small wrapped box. She turned and handed it to him. "Merry Christmas, Cody."

Cody smiled. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know, but I wanted to. I saw this, and I immediately thought of you." She smiled back. "But...Don't open it until Christmas."

"I won't, I promise."

"Good. Now, you should be getting on the road."

Cody shook his head. "Nope. The first day we met, I helped you with your bags. I'm going to do that again today too. So, let's go get you checked in."

Bailey just grinned as they both loaded up her bags and headed inside the terminal. Bailey got all of her bags checked and got her boarding pass. Walking away from the counter, she and Cody headed for the security check.

"Well, I guess this where I have to bid you farewell." Cody had a small laugh. "Its going to be weird not seeing you tomorrow."

"I know. But, you have my cell phone number, and I expect you to call me often."

Cody smiled. "I will, and you have mine as well. So, I expect you to call often as well."

"You know I will. And please wish everyone in Boston a Merry Christmas for me. Tell your Mom that I've looked out for you as best I could. And tell her you kept your promise too."

"I may mention it..."

Bailey smiled. "I'm going to miss you, Cody." She reached up and hugged him tightly.

"I'm going to miss you too, Bails. But, I promise, before you know it, you'll have to deal with my ugly mug again."

_To be Continued..._


	16. Going Home Again

_Chapter 16_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Several hours later, Bailey's plane landed in Topeka. After gathering her backpack and waiting her turn, she departed the plane and made her way to the baggage claim area. And there waiting on her was her mother and father. Smiling when she saw them, she ran over to them, and they both pulled her into a tight embrace.

"The prodigal daughter returns..."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Daddy..."

"Just teasing you, Pumpkin. Its good to finally have you home again. It hasn't been the same around here without you. How are you handling the big city?"

"Pretty well, I think. But New Haven isn't all the big compared to Boston. I couldn't believe how big and spread out it was."

Clyde Pickett frowned. "I'm sorry you had to spend Thanksgiving there, Pumpkin."

Bailey smiled. "I'm not. I missed home, but the Martins made me feel right at home. They're really nice people."

Eunice smiled at her daughter. "All of them or one especially?"

Bailey just gave her Mom a look and whispered. "We'll talk later..."

Eunice grinned. That sounded promising. But at that time, the bags from Bailey's flight started coming out, and everyone went over to collect them. And after grabbing them all, Clyde looked at Bailey.

"How did you manage to get all of these by yourself?"

"I didn't. Cody gave me a lift to the airport and helped be get my bags checked."

Clyde frowned again. "Yeah, I keep hearing all about this Cody boy. I think when we get home, I need to hear more about him. You know you can't really trust those big city types, Bailey."

Bailey shook her head. "Daddy, they are no different than we are."

"I don't know, Bailey...They just don't have the same work ethic we do."

"Well, Cody studies and works just as hard as I do. If he doesn't have a work ethic, then I don't either."

Clyde shook his head, and they gathered Bailey's things and made their way out to the truck. The drive back to the farm was spent with Bailey filling in her parents on her semester, her classes and life at Yale. Of course, a large part of her story involved the mention of Cody Martin, and Clyde kind of found that disturbing. Equally disturbing to him was that Bailey made no mention of Moose or didn't ask how he was doing. He had really grown quite fond of that boy and felt like he was the son he never had.

But once they got home, Bailey and her Mom went into the house to get her settled back in while Clyde went out to tend to some chores. And once they were in Bailey's room, Eunice closed the door and locked it behind her.

"Alright, Bailey...Spill."

Bailey just smiled at her Mom. "About what?"

Eunice put her hands on her hips. "You know full well what I'm talking about, young lady!"

Bailey kept smiling. "I know."

"Have things changed since Thanksgiving?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, they have. I think beforehand, I was trying to ignore how I felt or I was in denial because Cody already had a girlfriend. But once he didn't, I couldn't use that as an excuse any more. I had to admit to myself that I had fallen in love with him."

Eunice smiled. "Good for you, Honey. I'm guessing those kisses that curled your toes didn't hurt either."

Bailey laughed. "Not at all."

"So, what did Cody say when you told him?"

Bailey paused. "Well, I haven't yet. After he broke up with Barbara, he did some thinking. He told me he wouldn't have any respect for a girl already in a relationship who wanted to date him. That's why I need to talk to Moose as soon as possible. I don't want to be mean, but I figure to do it quick and get it over with. Kind of like ripping off a band-aid."

Eunice nodded. "I can understand that, but there is a small problem."

"What?"

"He's gone now to his grandparents and won't be back till a few days before New Year's."

Bailey slumped her shoulders. "Great...I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible."

Eunice smiled. "So, when do we get to finally meet Cody?"

"I don't know. Soon, I hope." She smiled. "I know once you meet him you'll know why he's so great. Momma, Cody gets me. He understands my dreams and encourages me. He's working as hard to pursue his too, and I support him too. And I can just be me with him, and he accepts me for who I am. And he's smart as a whip, but he can be goofy when he wants to be. At school, we've gone to see the museums and plays, and he enjoys them as much as I do. And on top of that, he's a complete gentleman. You can tell by the way he is around his mother. Its obvious he only wants the best for her. And his twin brother, Zack can be...well, a lot to deal with. But Cody cares about him and tries to help him."

"Well, I hope I get to meet him soon. He seems like a fine young man."

"He is..." Bailey checked her watch. "Oh feathers...I told him I would call him to let him know that I got in alright..."

Eunice grinned. "I'll give you some time alone then..."

Meanwhile, after leaving the New Haven Airport, Cody hopped back into his car and began the drive back to Boston. Several times, he had to stop himself from turning and saying something to Bailey. He could only sigh to himself. These next few weeks were going to drag by.

Finally, he arrived back at the Boston Tipton. After grabbing a luggage cart in the parking garage, he packed up his belongings and made his way back up to the 24th floor. Fishing out his key, he unlocked the door to the suite, opened the door and dragged his bags inside. And about that time, Carey Martin came walking out of her bedroom and smiled when she saw her son.

"Cody!"

She ran over an pulled him into a hug. "So good to have you back for a few weeks this time."

Cody smiled. "Good to be home, Mom."

"Didn't bring a certain someone with you this time, did you?"

Cody shook his head. "Nope. I dropped her off at the airport in New Haven before I headed back."

"Too bad. I really do like her."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, she has that effect on people."

Carey smiled. "And what kind of effect does she have on you?"

Cody just looked at his Mom. "Huh?"

"Its okay, Cody. I know. I caught Zack trying to prank Mr. Moseby again. To divert my anger at him, he told me everything..."

Cody sighed. "Not everything..."

Carey dragged him over to the couch and made him sit down next to her.

"What is everything then?"

"It doesn't matter. Its not possible anyways..."

"What isn't possible?"

Cody just looked at his Mom. "I'm in love with Bailey, Mom."

Carey grinned. "That's wonderful, Cody! Why make it sound so glum though?"

"Well, she still has a boyfriend..." He paused. "...but she is planning on breaking up with him...I think."

"What's the problem then? You're single. She's soon be single."

"Its more than that though. She's also my best friend. What happens if I tell her how I feel, and she doesn't feel the same. Then I've also lost my best friend."

Carey paused. "That's a tough spot, Cody. It kind of reminds me of the time when me and my then boyfriend..."

"Mom!"

Carey held up her hands. "Sorry..."

Cody sighed. "Its okay. This is just something I'm going to have to learn to deal with..."

"Not necessarily. Yeah, it could easily make her feel awkward and hurt your friendship...if she didn't feel the same way. Maybe she does?"

"There's no way to find out though."

Carey just looked at him. "Cody...If anyone can find out a way, its you. You're smart, and I'm sure some of your brother's sneakiness has rubbed off on to you."

"I don't know, Mom."

Carey leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I know you'll do the right thing, Cody. I hope it works out for out though. That Bailey is a keeper..."

"Now that, I do know..."

Carey just smiled at her youngest. After what Barbara had done to him, he deserved to be happy. And from what she had seen of Bailey Pickett, Carey knew Bailey would definitely do that. Plus, at least to Carey, it didn't hurt that she already liked Bailey way more than she ever had Barbara.

For his part, Cody grabbed his bags and took them into his old room. And it was a disaster area. Cody just shook his head, and went to grab the cleaning supplies and vacuum. A couple of hours later, the room was spotless once again.

"Probably for the first time since I left..."

Cody fell back on to his bed and just sighed. He then he shot up and checked his watch. Bailey should have been back home over an hour ago. He was beginning to get a little worried when he felt his cell phone begin to vibrate. Reaching for it, he saw it was Bailey and he sighed in relief.

_To be Continued..._

**AN: I know people are wanting me to get them together already. All I can say is patience, grasshopper. I have almost thirty chapters done, and if you've ready my stories, you know I will get there eventually. But, still a few more things to take care of first.**_  
><em>


	17. Lightning Strikes Twice

_Chapter 17_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Immediately, Bailey apologized for waiting so long to call. But, Cody told her it was okay...just not to make him worry like that ever again. And even though they had just seen each other several hours before, both continued to talk to each other for at least an hour. An unbeknownst to either of them, both were being observed by two smiling mothers.

For the next several days, both were taking it easy being back with their families. For Bailey, she did spend a lot of time with the animals as there wasn't much else farm work to do in late December. And for Cody, he spent his free time helping Arwin out with his duties and his inventions. But both were missing the other terribly – even though they talked on the phone at least once a day.

Finally, Christmas Day arrived. And in Kettlecorn, it seemed like everyone was adding a Yale t-shirt or sweatshirt to their wardrobe. Well, almost. When it came time for Clyde Pickett to open his gift, Bailey prepped him first.

"When I saw these, Daddy, I knew you would love them."

Clyde smiled at his daughter and opened the box in his lap. And his eyes went wide with what he found inside. There was a glass mug with the Cheers logo on it, a t-shirt with the same logo and a framed picture of Bailey standing in front of the famous exterior location.

He looked up and grinned. "Bailey! How did you get these?"

Bailey grinned back. "When I was in Boston, Cody took me to see it. He's the one who took that picture."

Clyde nodded. "Well, thank you, Pumpkin. I love these."

"You're welcome, Daddy."

Bailey picked up another small package and handed it to her older sister, Sandy. "And I got this for you in Boston too."

Her sister opened up the gift and, when she saw what it was, she began freaking out.

"How in the world did you get this?"

Eunice looked over her shoulder. "What is it, Sandy?"

Sandy held it out. It was a framed, autographed picture of London Tipton with the line. "To one of my biggest fans, Yay you! London Tipton."

"I still can't believe you were on her show, Bailey. What's she really like?"

Bailey paused. "She's...one of a kind."

"And you're really friends with her old producer?"

Bailey smiled. "Something like that..."

Back in Boston, Carey, Zack and Cody were all sitting around their living room opening their presents too. Carey looked over at the tree and saw one last gift underneath it.

"Oh, there's one more."

She walked over to get it and walked back as she read the tag on it. "Merry Christmas, Cody! From Bailey." She grinned at her son. "Its for you."

Cody smiled. "Yeah, she gave it to me before she left with explicit instructions not to open it until Christmas Day."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Well, open it already!"

Cody took it from his mother and began unwrapping it. Inside, he found a figurine of a Red Sox player donned in catcher's gear. And with it was a small envelope. Cody opened the envelope and read it.

"_You took your risk and won without needing to borrow this guy's gear. Hopefully, by the time you're reading this, I will have taken mine too. I only hope mine turns out as well as yours. Merry Christmas, Cody."_

Cody just smiled and held up the figurine and looked at it.

A couple of days later, Zack had the day off and he and Cody were hanging out after ice skating in the park.

"You know, Codester, I think I've seen the benefits of college."

Cody's eyebrows raised. "You have, huh?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. Work sucks. I'm starting BC next semester. I've even got a dorm room to move into."

Cody grinned at his brother with pride. "Good for you, Zack. Does Mom know?"

"Yeah, she's not happy to be left alone, but she's at least happy I'll be just across town..."

Cody laughed. "Have you told Moseby yet?"

Zack shook his head. "Of course not! What fun would that be?"

"So, have you met your new roommate yet?"

"Not yet, but he's the boyfriend of Maya's roommate, Addison. His name's Woody I think. From what I've been told, he came to BC from Cleveland to get away from his crazy step dad or something."

"Well, good luck with that. I'm assuming you are still seeing Maya?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, almost a month now...a new personal record."

Cody laughed again. "Good for you, I..." But before he could continue, both Zack and Cody noticed someone standing in front of them. Once Cody noticed who it was, he exhaled.

"Hello, Barbara."

She nodded. "Hello, Cody. I was hoping to talk to you."

Cody sighed. "Go ahead."

"I was hoping alone."

"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Zack."

Barbara sighed that time. "Very well. Cody, I came to apologize to you. Having had time to think about my actions, I am disgusted with myself. I never should have done anything with Bob. I truly regret my actions. I wish I had listened to you and gone to Yale with you. I think things might have been different."

Cody paused to consider what he wanted to say. "Actually, Barbara, I should be thanking you."

Barbara was surprised. "Thanking me?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. Thanks to your actions, I was able to meet Bailey, and she's like no one I've ever met before in my whole life."

"The girl in the coffee house with you?"

Cody nodded again. "Yeah. You see, she's the most amazing person I've ever met. There's just something special about her..."

Barbara swallowed. "You really like her, don't you?"

Cody shook his head. "No...I really love her. And she's my best friend. So, that's why I have to thank you. If not for what you did, I might not have ever met her. And I am eternally grateful that I did..."

Barbara had tears forming in her eyes. "I guess I deserve that. I hope she won't be as stupid as I was. If you'll excuse me, I need to go." And what that, Barbara quickly made her exit.

Zack just began laughing. "Codester...That was awesome! You just took the knife and dug it in a little deeper. You just destroyed her!"

Cody sighed. "Not my intention."

Zack frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Everything I just said, I meant every word."

"Whoa! Are you saying you're really in love with Bailey?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah...I am."

"About time!"

"It doesn't matter though...I may be in love with her, but nothing will never happen."

Zack shook his head. "Broseph...if I can actually have a real girlfriend and think its a good idea, anything is possible..."

Back in Kettlecorn, Eunice had to head into town to pick up a few things, and Bailey decided to join her. She figured she could stop by and visit with her former co-workers at Buck's Bait and Beauty Barn. So, that's what she did. Upon entering the store, she quickly caught up with everyone and told them all about Yale. At one point, she excused herself to use the ladies room. And she was about to come back out when she heard two voices that sounded familiar. Staying inside, she put her ear to the door and listened.

"So, Moose, I get off at nine tonight. Should I meet you out in your barn at ten?"

Moose laughed. "Why sure thing, Betty Lou. I wouldn't miss it for the world. But we have to slow down for a while. Bailey is back in town, and I don't want her to get the wrong idea."

"I'll see you then..."

Bailey's mouth went wide in shock. Wrong idea about what? She was about to head outside and confront Moose when she heard another voice.

"You're playing with fire, Moose."

"Nah. I'm just messing around with Betty Lou while Bailey was gone. Come New Year's Eve, I'm going to propose to Bailey and convince her to give up her stupid dream and come back home. Besides, you know how it is. I'm a man who has needs. Besides, what did Bailey expect? She never let me touch her and then leaves to head halfway across the country. She should have known better. But, I'll be good once I have her back here where she belongs."

"You don't think Betty Lou might get upset?"

Moose laughed. "Not if she knows what's good for her. Her pappy works and lives on my family's farm. She says a word, and he'll be out of job and a home."

Whoever was with him began laughing. "Smart thinking, Moose. But if anyone asks, I know nothing about this. My own wife would kill me..."

"You just need to show your woman who's in charge. Teach her a lesson she'll never forget. That's what I'm planning on doing. Bailey's old man invited me to dinner at their house tomorrow night. Watch and learn."

Bailey stepped away from the door. She was absolutely fuming mad. At the same time, she was kicking herself for being so blind for so long. She was about to head outside of the bathroom and give Moose a piece of her mind and maybe a barehanded neutering when her cell phone began ringing. Sighing, she pulled it out of her pocket, but she smiled and saw it was Cody calling.

"Cody, thank God's it you! I need you!"

_To be Continued..._


	18. Thank You for Being a Friend

_Chapter 18_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody had come home from the park and thought about what Zack had said. He had to admit...the fact that his brother seemed was in an actual committed relationship and was happy about it was something Cody could never have imagined. But maybe he was right. Maybe anything was possible. Maybe he should talk to Bailey and tell her how he felt. Building up his courage, Cody reached for his phone and immediately dialed Bailey's number. But her answer surprised him.

"Cody, thank God's it you! I need you!"

Immediately, Cody was concerned. "Bailey? Is everything okay?"

Bailey sighed. "No, its not! I feel like the world's biggest fiddle right now!"

"What do you mean?"

Bailey just let it all out."Cody, you weren't the only one who was played. I just found out Moose has been playing me like a fool for a long time!"

Cody tried to be as calming and soothing as he could be. "Bailey, I need you to calm down and tell me everything."

And that's what Bailey did. She told him the exact conversation she had just overheard. "I swear Cody, I want to go out there and rip him to shreds and make him a eunuch!"

Cody smiled. "No, you don't."

Bailey was incredulous at hearing that. "Yes, I do!"

"No, you don't. Remember the lesson you taught me when I felt like Barbara stabbed me in the back. Don't get mad, get even..."

Bailey paused. "How am I supposed to that? With Barbara, I was there in Boston to help out..."

Cody smiled again. "Would your Mom mind having another guest for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Who?"

"Me of course."

Bailey was confused and shook her head. "But how would you even get here?"

"You let me worry about that for now. For now, I need you to stay calm and collected for me. Can you do that?"

Bailey sighed. "I'll try."

"That's my girl..."

Bailey had to smile at hearing that.

"Now, is there a back door you can escape from?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, but I don't want it to look like I'm running away..."

"You won't be. I just know if you saw him right now, you might not be able control you justifiable anger." Cody grinned. "No matter how much he may deserve it, I don't want you end up in jail..."

"I guess."

"Who would I study with next semester? Who would I hang out with? Do it for me..."

Bailey just shook her head and smiled. "Alright...Fine."

"Okay, leave by the back door. And then, I need you to avoid him for the next hour. I need to make another phone call, and I will call you back then. I promise"

Bailey smiled. "Thanks, Cody. Its nice to know who I can really count on..."

"Its my pleasure. Besides, I do owe you one. Just take care of yourself until then, Bails. And remember, Moose is going to realize how big of a fool he's been. I'm sorry you had to go through this too."

"Guess yet another club we're both members of, huh?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. But you deserve a whole lot better than him. And soon, you'll be free of him and on to better things in your life."

Bailey nodded. "I sure hope so."

Cody hung up his phone and looked at it again.

"I sure hope this works..." And with that, he dialed another number.

Back in Kettlecorn, Bailey did what Cody said. Cracking the door open, she saw the coast was now clear. Slipping out of the bathroom, she headed into the storage room and exited out the back door. As incognito as possible, she made her way to her parents' truck and climbed inside. About twenty minutes later, her mother returned with a questioning look on her face.

"There you are, Bailey. I stopped by Buck's, but they said you had disappeared on them..."

Bailey sighed. "Suddenly, I wasn't in much of a social mood."

Eunice frowned. "What's wrong?"

Bailey slumped her shoulders and told her mother about the conversation she had over heard.

Eunice furiously shook her head. "Why that little...Where is he? I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!"

"Calm down, Mom. I...I think I have the cavalry coming."

"What do you mean?"

"I was about to confront Moose myself when my phone rang, and it was Cody. I told him what happened, and he offered to come here and help me teach Moose a lesson." She paused. "You don't mind him staying with us for a little bit do you?"

Eunice smiled. "Not at all. It'll be nice to finally meet this boy. And anything you two need me to do, just let me know."

Bailey paused again. "Well, you know how much Daddy always liked Moose, he might not be happy with what happens."

Eunice grinned. "You leave your father to me."

Bailey grinned back, and soon, she and her mother headed back to the farm. Once back, Bailey headed up to her room and closed the door. Stretching out on her bed, she just laid there waiting for her phone to ring again. As she stared at her phone, the old saying that a watched pot never boils immediately came to mind. But her phone did eventually ring, almost exactly when Cody said he would call.

"Cody?"

"Its me. What time is dinner tomorrow night?"

"6:30."

Cody nodded. "Good. I'll be landing at a private field in a place called Kettlepot at 4:00 tomorrow afternoon."

Bailey smiled. "That's not far from here at all. I'll come pick you up."

Cody laughed. "Good. I hadn't quite figured out how I was going to get to your house yet."

Bailey laughed too. "Are you kidding me? You'll actually have to ride with me for once..."

"Should I be concerned?"

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see then."

Cody paused. "So, how are you really doing?"

"You know, its kind of weird actually. I was planning on breaking up with him anyways, but I feel so stupid..."

"I know that feeling all too well...Believe me, you didn't deserve to have this happen to you."

"Neither did you. I hope Moose feels as horrible as Barbara did."

"Actually, Zack and I ran into her earlier. She wasn't doing too good. She apologized to me and told me if she could, she would go back and do everything different."

Bailey paused. "What did you tell her?"

Cody paused too He still wanted to tell her how he felt, but now with this happening, he knew he couldn't. She needed a friend right now, and he determined to be the best one he could for her. "I told her the truth. That if she could, I wouldn't want her to. I might not have such a great friend like you if she had."

Bailey smiled. "Thanks. You sure do know how to make someone feel good when they feel like they got punched in the stomach."

"Keep your chin up, Bails. Come tomorrow, it will be us doing the punching back."

"I hope so. Oh, my Mom says she can't wait to meet you."

"Well, I hope she likes me as much as my Mom does you." He laughed again. "In fact, I'm starting to think she likes you more than she does me. She seemed disappointed I didn't bring you home with me again."

Bailey just shook her head and smiled again. "Tell her I promise to make a return trip to Boston again soon."

"I will. Oh, and get this...Zack and Maya are still dating."

Bailey laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Completely. I was totally blown away. And he's moving into a dorm at BC soon. I'd like to know what kind of magic potion Maya has used on him. I would have bought it in bulk years ago!"

Bailey just smiled again. "I'm so glad you're going to be here tomorrow."

"I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"Me too."

"Now, we need to figure out what our plan of attack is going to be. Any ideas?"

Bailey paused. "I might have something, but I need to think about it some more."

Cody nodded. "Alright. You use that devious mind of yours and fill me in on it tomorrow. And then with us both there, we'll finalize it."

Bailey smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon...Codykins."

Cody laughed. "Never going to live that down, am I?"

"Not as long as I'm around..."

"Guess I'll just have to get used to it then. Alright, I should get off of here so I can begin packing for my trip tomorrow. I'll see you then."

"Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails?"

"I...I just hope you know how much I appreciate all of this. I'll never forget this."

"Well, I'll never forget what you did for me. Now, you get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow."

Cody hung up his phone and just sat there with a smile on his face.

"Should I help you pack?"

Cody turned around and saw his mother standing there with a big grin on her face. "Mom..."

"No need to explain. I heard enough..."

"Well, I..."

Carey just smiled again. "Save it. We need to get you packed so you can go get your girl..."

_To be Continued..._


	19. Popping the Question

_Chapter 19_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After hanging up from talking to Cody, Bailey headed downstairs and found her Mom in the kitchen. She explained to her Mom that she needed to borrow the family truck the next afternoon and why, and Eunice could only smile. But, she did have to ask how Cody was able to fly into a private airfield on such short notice. Bailey paused to consider that herself and promised she would ask Cody how he had managed to pull it off. With that settled though, Bailey headed back to her room. As angry as she was about what Moose had done, she realized it wasn't because she really cared but that she had been made a fool of. But as mad as she was, she couldn't help but smile knowing that this time tomorrow, she'd have Cody there with her. And that thought made her feel a whole lot better.

The next day, Bailey left the house about three in the afternoon and made her way to Kettlepot. It wasn't much bigger than Kettlecorn, so she didn't have much problem finding the airfield. And unlike New Haven, Bailey pretty much could go anywhere in the airport she wanted. At four o'clock, she watched as a small private plane landed. And as it got closer, she noticed a logo on the plane's tail of a large cursive capital T. Bailey paused. Where had she seen that logo before?

But she didn't have much time to think about it as the plane came to a stop. The plane's door was opened, and a small staircase was lowered. And then she saw him. Cody was walking down the stairs pulling a bag behind him. She opened the door to the outside, and ran out to meet him. And without thinking, she immediately through her arms around him and hugged him tight.

"You really are here!"

Cody smiled at her. "I told you I would be..."

"I still don't understand how you got here though."

"Well, lets just say I made a deal..."

Bailey just looked at him. "What kind of deal?"

Cody paused. "When the new spring line comes out, I've agreed to do another show of Yay Me! Starring London Tipton..."

Bailey looked up at the plane again. "Of course! This is the Tipton jet. I knew that logo looked familiar. I mean..." She paused. "By spring line, she's going to dress you up and put make up on you again, right?"

Cody nodded. "That's what I'm assuming."

Bailey just smiled. "Well, I appreciate you agreeing to do that for me."

"Just don't laugh at me when I have to do it..."

"I'll try..."

Cody smiled. "That's all I can ask. Now, do you have a plan yet?"

"I think so. Come on. There's a McDonald's here in Kettlepot. Why don't we go get something hot to drink and we'll go over it."

"Lets go."

Back in Kettlecorn, at the Pickett home, Clyde had come inside from out in the barn and walked into the dining room. Looking at the table, he frowned.

"Eunice?"

His wife came walking in from the kitchen. "Yes, Clyde?"

"Why is the table set for eight? You, me, Jenny, Wendy, Sally, Bailey and Moose. That's only seven."

Eunice smiled. "We're having another guest for dinner tonight."

Clyde gave his wife a funny look. "Who?"

"Its a surprise. Bailey's gone to pick up our guest right now."

Clyde lifted his eyebrows. "Is there something going on here that I should know about?"

Eunice paused. "Do you trust your daughter?"

"Of course."

"And do you trust that she knows what she is doing?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Just remember that then...Bailey is doing what she has to do."

Clyde was confused, but the doorbell rang and he went to answer it. And it was Moose.

"Moose! Come on in!"

Moose grinned. "Evening, Mr. Pickett. Thank you for having me over for supper."

Clyde grinned too. "Our pleasure. How was your grandparents?"

"It was good, but I'm glad to be home. I've really missed my little Apple Dumpling. Where is she? I can't wait to see her after so long..."

Clyde paused. "Well, we're having another guest join us tonight. She's gone out to pick whoever it is up..."

"You don't know?"

Clyde shook his head. "Nope. Eunice didn't tell me. I think Bailey has a surprise for us."

Moose frowned. "Why didn't you just tell her to tell you? You are the king of the castle after all..."

Clyde laughed. "Moose, you've got a lot to learn about women..."

Eunice walked in. "Bailey just called and said she was on her way back. Why don't we all go head and get ready to eat?"

Clyde and Moose nodded, and took their places at the table. Soon after, Bailey's three youngest sisters took their places too. Eunice took her seat and smiled to herself. She wasn't sure what was about to happen, but she had the feeling it was going to be an interesting evening.

A few minutes later, everyone heard the front door open along with laughter, and soon enough everyone saw Bailey – walking arm in arm with a tall, slender blond young man. And Bailey was grinning from ear to ear.

"Sorry, we're late. I was showing Cody around Kettlecorn a little bit before dinner. Not as much to see as in Boston, but I think he enjoyed it."

Cody nodded and grinned. "Very much so. Its really beautiful here. And the air is so fresh and clean."

Clyde was surprised. "I didn't know you were expecting a guest, Bailey..."

Eunice smiled. "Oh, I did. I thought it was about time we got to meet the young man our little Bailey has been spending so much time with."

Clyde nodded reluctantly. "So, you're the city boy Bailey's told us so much about..."

Cody nodded too. "Yes, sir. I would like to..."

Before Cody could finish, he was interrupted. "Excuse me!" Every turned and saw Moose was now standing. And Moose was not happy at all. In fact, he was quite angry. He glared at Bailey.

"You've been spending a lot of time with this scrawny feller, Bailey?"

Bailey just kept smiling. "Of course I have, you silly goose. I mean...he is my boyfriend after all."

Everyone around the table looked at Bailey in complete shock after what she had said. Well, almost everyone. Eunice had to hold back a laugh as she thought she knew what was going on. But Moose shook his head and glared back at Bailey and Cody.

"What do you mean he's your boyfriend? I'm your boyfriend! And I was planning on proposing to you tonight and making you my wife!"

Cody grinned. "You're a little too late for that. You see...that's why we were late getting back. I actually had a question to ask Bailey myself..."

Bailey clasped her hands together in excitement. "And I said 'yes'!"

Moose's eyes went wide. "You did what? Bailey, you're my girl, and I'm your feller!"

Bailey just kept smiling. "No...no, you're not. You see, if you were my feller, you wouldn't have been hooking up with Betty Lou out in your barn. Once I heard about that, I was actually relieved..."

Clyde finally got his voice back. "Huh? What? Relieved?"

Bailey nodded. "Yes, Daddy. When Cody and I met, we realized we got along so well with everything we have in common. And with each of us not knowing anyone else, we gravitated towards each other. And...well, with us spending so much time together, it just happened."

Cody nodded too. "Its true. Your daughter is the most special person I've ever met, sir. Her outer beauty is only matched by her inner beauty. She's the girl of my dreams."

Bailey smiled up at Cody. "At first, I tried hard to fight it out of respect for Moose, but then I got sent an anonymous picture of Moose and Betty Lou in a compromising position in his family's barn. After that, I decided I owed him nothing. He's the man of my dreams too. Not only is Cody handsome, he's intelligent, kind, chivalrous, and my best friend. And the week we spent in Boston was the most romantic time of my life. We shared kisses that I will remember the rest of my life."

Of course, neither one of them knew the other was speaking the honest truth. But they had other things to worry about – namely a red faced Moose. And he was even angrier.

"I can't believe this! I knew you going off to the big city was a bad idea! I should have made you stay here where you belonged!"

Bailey smirked. "Tell me, Moose. How long have you and Betty Lou been having your late night rendezvous?"

"Our what?"

Bailey smiled at Cody again. "Guess I shouldn't have used such a big word, huh?"

Cody shrugged and smiled. "Maybe not, but I adore the way the French language rolls off of your lips..." And he leaned down and kissed them in front of everyone. And Bailey gladly reciprocated.

Moose didn't know what to say, but Clyde did.

"Let me get this straight? Moose, you were cheating on my daughter?"

Moose turned to him. "She was doing the same to me!"

Cody interrupted. "Actually, no. Bailey and I did not get together until both of our exes made it clear they did not wish to be in monogamous relationships with us."

Clyde kept talking, but he wasn't happy. "How long, Moose?"

Moose sighed. "A couple of years now, Clyde...but you know how it is. I'm a man, I have needs. And Bailey flat out refused to let me touch her. I had to do what I had to do."

Clyde was glaring at him. "No, I don't know how it was, but I know how its going to be from now on. If I find you anywhere near my farm or my family ever again, you won't like what happens. I think you should go now."

Moose just looked at him in surprise before he turned and glared at Cody.

"This isn't over, little feller..." And with that, Moose stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

Once he was gone, Cody and Bailey just turned to each other and began laughing. Cody proceeded to bow.

"I think its time for you to thank the academy again..."

Bailey kept laughing. "Me? What about you? You were masterful! That line about you asking me a question too? Pure genius!"

Cody just grinned. "If I was, I learned from the master."

Eunice was shaking her head laughing and Clyde looked around the room confused.

"Will someone tell me what the feathers is going on around here?"

_To be Continued..._


	20. Confessions

_Chapter 20_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Clyde Pickett continued to look around the dining room in confusion. He was expecting a nice family dinner, but it looked like another plan had been put in motion that he was unaware of. And what the heck had happened up at Yale? He knew Bailey was friends with this Cody boy, but he was now her boyfriend and possibly her fiance? And Moose? The young man he had looked after like he was one of his own turned out to be a two timing scoundrel. Clyde felt incredibly stupid at that moment.

"Is anyone going to answer me?"

Bailey sat down next to her Dad, and Cody sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I wanted your reaction to our little plan to be real. Let me tell you what really happened." Bailey proceeded to explain the conversation she had overheard, and Cody's offer to come help her out.

Clyde was even more confused. "So, this was all an act to get back at Moose?"

Bailey nodded. "Yes, Daddy. We wanted to teach him a lesson he'll never forget. And I think we did."

Clyde paused and looked over at Cody. "And you flew halfway across the country just to help?"

Cody nodded. "Yes, sir. You see, the same thing happened to me with my ex-girlfriend over Thanksgiving. Bailey was there to help me teach her a lesson. Having a pretty good idea of what she was feeling, I immediately offered Bailey my assistance. I owed this to her."

Clyde paused again. "So, you two aren't boyfriend and girlfriend or engaged?"

Cody shook his head. "No, sir. But, Bailey is one of my best friends."

"And Cody is one of mine."

Clyde nodded slowly and looked over at his wife. "And were you in on this?"

Eunice smiled. "Well, I didn't know what the actual plan was, but I quickly caught on. Bailey had told me what she overheard and that Cody was coming to help. Their little act was all them though." She turned to Cody. "I apologize for not officially welcoming you properly yet. Please make yourself right at home. After all the stories Bailey has told us, its a pleasure to finally meet you, Cody."

Cody smiled. "Thank you, ma'am. And thank you for your hospitality."

Clyde turned to Cody again. "How long will you staying with us, Cody?"

Cody paused. "Well, London told me to call her when I wanted to plane to come back and pick me up, so..."

Bailey interrupted him. "Daddy, Cody will be staying with us until after New Years at the least. He and his family welcomed me into their home and showed me around Boston. I want to return the favor to him."

Cody turned to her. "Actually, if you want, you can cash in your plane ticket or get a voucher and fly back with me. And I can drive you back to New Haven from Boston."

Bailey smiled. "I may just do that. I've never been on a private plane before."

Cody smiled back. "It was a first for me too. I will say, having a flight attendant with just me on the plane was kind of awkward. She kept looking at me waiting for me to say something."

Bailey laughed. "I bet."

"It will be nice to get to see life on a farm first hand. It'll be a whole new experience for me."

Eunice spoke up. "Well, after dinner, we'll get you settled in the guest room, and then Bailey can give you a brief tour. But right now, we should eat before everything gets cold."

Everyone nodded and began digging in. And dinner was delicious. Cody wasn't sure he had ever had fresher vegetables in all of his life. Of course, he wanted to kick himself when he realized they were probably grown yards from the house. After dinner, Bailey lead Cody up to the guest room to let him get settled in.

Cody grinned at her. "I see how it is. I get a guest room, and you had to crash on a couch..."

Bailey laughed. "Don't worry about it..." She paused. "Thank you again for coming to my rescue yet once again."

Cody walked over and pulled her into a hug. "Well, I have to ask...how are you holding up?"

Bailey looked up feeling Cody's arms around her. "Actually, I feel great..."

"You sure? I mean, like you told me, you just closed a large chapter of your life today."

"Yeah, but I'm more than ready for the next chapter to begin."

Cody smiled at her. "Well, I hope it has a happy ending. You deserve it."

Bailey smiled and nodded. "Me too. Come on, I'll show you around the farm. Well, as much as you can see in the dark."

So, for the next hour, Bailey showed Cody around the farm including the barn, the storm shelter, and some of the fields. In particular, she introduced him to the farm animals. And for Cody, it was a new experience. Sure, he had been around Tippy the horse, but this was the first time he had been around chickens, cows, sheep and goats. Well, live ones anyways.

After they came back inside the house, they found Clyde sitting in the den watching TV, so they joined him. Clyde turned to Cody.

"So, tell me a little bit about yourself, Cody. I understand you are pre-med too."

Cody nodded. "Yes, sir. I wanted to do something with my life to help people. When I was younger, I had the dream of being the first doctor/lawyer in space. I've kind of narrowed it down some since then."

"The ambitious type...No wonder you and Bailey get along so well."

Cody smiled. "Its been such a comfort having someone around who understands that part of me and encourages it."

Bailey smiled too. "Same here."

Clyde nodded. "You a sports fan too, Cody?"

"Yes, sir. I'm a big Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots and Bruins fan."

"Well, there is a game on right now, Lakers and the Thunder. Oklahoma City is the closest team to us, so I've kind of adopted them. Who do you have in this game?"

Cody paused. "No offense, Mr. Pickett, but if it was possible for both teams to lose, that's what I would root for."

Clyde just gave him a questioning look.

Cody continued. "You see, part of being a Celtics fan is that you have to despise the Lakers and vice versa. On the other hand, I was born and am originally from Seattle. Both my father and grandfathers were huge Supersonics fans. With the franchise so brutally ripped away from Seattle by an unscrupulous owner, I can't root for them either."

Clyde paused and nodded. "I can understand that. I can still remember when the Kansas City Kings left for Sacramento and the bad taste that left in my mouth. Speaking of your father, what does he do?"

"He's a musician. He has his own band that tours around the country. Mostly rock and roll."

"Well, Bailey told us your mother is a talented singer too. Does that run in the family?"

Cody shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I wasn't bad when I was younger, but when my voice changed, all singing ability went with it. Now, I save my singing for the shower..."

Clyde laughed. "Same here."

Bailey spoke up. "You know, Daddy. Cody is incredibly brave as well. He saved me when I was almost attacked on campus..."

Clyde sat up in his chair. "Excuse me? You were almost attacked?"

Bailey quickly explained what happened that night a few weeks back. "But like I said, Daddy, Cody was there to make sure nothing bad happened to me. He even walked me all the way back to my dorm room just to be sure."

Clyde sighed shook his head. "Well, thank God for that." He turned to Cody. "Thank you for taking care of my little girl."

Cody smiled. "It was my pleasure. But I did suggest to Bailey that we study in my room from then on. That way, she could easily beat up the only other person there if she had to..."

Bailey swatted Cody's shoulder as Clyde laughed. Soon after though, everyone called it a night. Cody made his way to the guest room, and went to bed rather quickly as it had been a long day. Of course, at dawn the next morning, he heard the rooster crow. Catching him completely off guard, he once again fell out of bed and to the floor. He looked up in alarm only to find Bailey opening the door, looking at him and laughing.

"You still need to work on your landings."

Cody shook his head. "I'll never get the gold if I keep this up. But, in my defense, I've never woken up to a rooster before."

Bailey smiled. "Well, I was about to go feed the animals. You can go back to bed if you want to ,and I'll wake you up again before breakfast."

Cody shook his head. "Nah, I'm up. Give me a minute to put on some warmer clothes, and I'll help you."

So, that's what they did. And by the time they were done, breakfast was ready. That morning, Bailey's sister Sandy stopped by to visit. And she almost had a meltdown when she met Cody in person. It kind of freaked Cody out that someone would view him as a quasi celebrity, but he just shrugged it off. Of course, he did give his first ever autograph that morning.

Around noon, Clyde asked Bailey to help him with something out in the barn, and she went outside with him. Once they entered the barn, Clyde closed the door behind them. He sat on a hay bale and patted for Bailey to sat down beside him.

"What's up, Daddy?"

"Alright, Pumpkin. Truth time here. I figured you'd be devastated by what Moose did, but you seem like you are on top of the world. And unless I've missed my guess, it has to do with that young man in there."

Bailey paused. "Truth be told, Daddy, I've been planning on breaking up with Moose for a while. I almost did the day I left for Yale, but he wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise. For a long time, we had grown apart, and I got tired of the way he treated me like a possession. I guess I knew it was over a long time ago, I just didn't want to acknowledge it. But then I met Cody and he was going through a similar thing with his ex. That was something we bonded over. We both knew what it was like to outgrow someone."

"I wish you would have told me."

"I know, Daddy, but I knew you always liked Moose."

Clyde smiled. "More importantly, I want my girls to be happy. If I had known what he was doing, I would have castrated him with my bare hands."

Bailey smiled back. "I had the same thought, but Cody convinced me that getting even would be more fun. And it was..."

Clyde just looked at his daughter. "You're quite attached to that boy, aren't you?"

Bailey nodded. "Yes, I am."

"How attached?"

Bailey paused. "I'm in love with Cody, Daddy."

"How does he feel about you?"

Bailey shrugged. "I don't know. I want to tell him how I feel, but I'm scared. He's also my best friend, and I don't want to lose that. But, I do have a plan."

Clyde smiled. "Well, he would be a damn fool if he wasn't in love with you too."

Bailey hugged her Dad. "Thanks, Daddy..."

"And...I think he's a fine young man. I'll be forever grateful to him for keeping you safe up there. But you are still my little girl, so if he messes with you, he deals with me."

"I know, Daddy, but Cody isn't like that. He's always been the perfect gentleman. I even fell asleep in his bed once and..."

Clyde's eyes went wide. "You did what?"

Bailey sighed. "I got...locked out of my room, and Cody let me stay in his. I fell asleep on his bed working on a paper. When I woke up, he had put a blanket over me and was fast asleep in his desk chair. I saw more acts of chivalry in that one night than I ever did with Moose."

"Well, Pumpkin...I hope you get what you want."

Back in the house, Eunice was working away in the kitchen when Cody walked in.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Eunice smiled at him. "Bailey tells us you're a pretty good cook, huh?"

Cody smiled back. "I'm okay. I learned from the hotel's head chef for six years."

"Well, if you want, I'd love a hand with fixing dinner..."

"Just tell me what you need me to do."

"How are you at cooking chicken?"

"Fried, roasted, grilled or broiled?"

Eunice laughed. "Surprise me."

"Well, I'm not the Colonel or anything, but I do have my own blend of herbs and spices I use to make my own marinade if your game."

"Lets see what you can do."

Cody grinned. "Alright."

Twenty minutes later, Eunice was tasting the marinade Cody had prepared. "Mmmmm...That's delicious."

"Thank you, Mrs. Pickett."

"Please, call me Eunice." She paused. "Cody, if I ask you a question, will you give me an honest answer?"

Cody nodded. "Of course."

"How do you really feel about my daughter?"

Cody paused, had a faraway look in his eyes and a goofy grin on his face. "Well..."

Eunice smiled back. "Say no more..."

Cody looked at her confused. "Huh?"

"I know that look all too well. You really care about my daughter, don't you?"

Cody sighed and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'm in love with her."

"You make it sound like a bad thing..."

"Oh, its not! I feel things for Bailey that I've never felt before. But, she just got out of a relationship, and I think she only sees me as a friend. Plus, she's my best friend. I would never do anything to jeopardize that. I've decided that having her in my life as just a friend is better than not having her in my life at all." He paused and his eyes went wide. "Please, Mrs. Pickett...you can't tell her I said any of this!"

Eunice smiled. "I promise..._I won't_."

_To be Continued..._


	21. A Taste of Their Own Medicine

_Chapter 21_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody and Eunice continued preparing everything for dinner that evening. By the time they were done, all they had to do put everything in the oven later. And Cody did his fair share of observing too as Eunice showed him how to make her special homemade biscuits. Never one to turn down a good recipe, he actually wrote down everything she did. A little while later, Bailey and Clyde came back in from the barn, and both could smell something pleasant emanating from the kitchen.

"What's going on in here?"

Eunice grinned. "Cody was just helping me get dinner prepared for later. The chicken is his own recipe."

Clyde turned and looked at Cody questioningly. "You can cook?"

Bailey walked over beside Cody. "He sure can, Daddy. Back in Boston, he cooked Thanksgiving dinner himself."

Cody shook his head. "Not all of it. Bailey insisted on helping, and the mashed potatoes and stuffing were all her doing. And they were the hit of the meal."

Clyde shrugged. "Well, I look forward to seeing how it turns out." He checked his watch. "I need to head in town to pick up a few things before the stores close."

"We can do it, Daddy. I'll give me a chance to show Cody around downtown. Well, what of downtown there actually is..."

"Well, I suppose that will be alright. That would give me a chance to rewire the chicken coup that I've been meaning to do. My list is on the dashboard of the truck." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys and some money. "Just be back before dinner."

Bailey grinned. "We will..." She grabbed Cody's arm and dragged him out of the house.

Clyde just laughed. "Well, I'm glad to see Bailey is in such good spirits." He looked over at his wife. "But, I'm guessing you already knew that and why..."

Eunice smiled. "I did...And I'm guessing she just told you too."

Clyde nodded. "She did. Can't say I saw this coming, but Cody seems to be a good kid. And after everything he's done for her, she could do a whole lot worse..."

Eunice nodded too. "I know..." She grinned. "...but this story just got even more interesting..."

"How so?"

"Well, I was talking to Cody while you two were out in the barn. Seems those two are even more alike than we previous thought..."

"In what way?"

Eunice smiled. "Both are in love with the other but are afraid to say anything in fear of hurting their friendship..."

Clyde sighed. "While that makes things better, its not up to us to interfere."

Eunice just looked at her husband incredulously. "Why not? We know something that will make our daughter beyond happy. How are we supposed to keep our mouths shut and say nothing?"

"Because this is up to them. If they both love each other, then they'll figure it out on their own. So, no interfering. Let nature take its course. Now, I should be getting out to that coup..." And with that, Clyde headed outside while Eunice just stood there shaking her head.

She busied herself doing some other household chores when she heard a strange sound. Looking around, she found a cell phone laying on the kitchen counter. Eunice picked it up and answered it tentatively.

"Hello?"

There was a pause. "Ummm...Yes. I was looking for my son, Cody."

Eunice smiled. "This must be his phone then. I'm Eunice Pickett."

Carey smiled back. "I'm Carey Martin. Would you be Bailey's mother?"

"That's me. Bailey just took Cody into town not long ago, but I'll make sure he calls you once he gets back."

"I would appreciate that. I hope Cody isn't being an inconvenience to your home and your family..."

Eunice laughed. "Not in the least. He's a fine young man, and he even helped prepare dinner tonight."

"Glad to hear that. You must be very proud of Bailey. She was such a pleasure to have around during Thanksgiving. You can tell she definitely has her head on straight and was raised right."

"We're very proud of her, as you must be of Cody as well. Their plan to make Moose feel like an idiot was pure genius..."

Carey sighed in relief. "I'm glad it worked out then. I know how much Bailey helped Cody when the same thing happened to him, and I was just hoping he was able to return the favor."

"Oh, he definitely has. Bailey has been on cloud nine having him here with her the past couple of days. I just wish they both weren't so stubborn."

"What do you mean?"

Eunice paused. "Well, are you aware of exactly how Cody feels about Bailey?"

Carey nodded. "Yes, I am. I've even talked to him about it and encouraged him."

"Bailey feels the same way about him, but my husband tells me we can't get involved and tell them..."

Carey sighed and shook her head. "Men can be such idiots sometimes..."

"I know...My husband just doesn't understand these things..."

Carey laughed. "I was talking about my son..."

Eunice laughed too. "Oh...fair enough...but you can take comfort in knowing that his heart is in the right place."

"True, but that doesn't solve what to do about those two crazy kids. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. It would be nice if they could start the new year off right..."

"My thoughts exactly..."

"Any ideas?"

Eunice grinned. "You know, I think I do...How does this sound?"

In town, Bailey and Cody had already gotten the items her father needed and were now just walking around looking at everything. As they passed the the local drug store, Bailey stopped Cody.

"You want to head inside and getting something to drink? They actually have an old fashioned soda fountain inside."

Cody grinned sure. "Sure, sounds like fun."

Both headed inside and make their way to the soda fountain counter and took a seat. After each ordered a hot chocolate with a splash of vanilla, they sipped their drinks and continued talking.

"So, nothing at all like Boston, huh?"

Cody smiled. "Not really, but the people are a whole lot friendlier. I haven't been flipped off once since I've been here. Back in Boston, I got that at least once a day and that doesn't even include the subway..."

Bailey laughed. "I remember the subway. Being packed in like sardines, the angry faces, the BO..."

"Yeah, but to be fair, after a while, your nose begins to tune it out..."

"I'll believe that when I see it..."

"You don't want to do that...When you actually see it, that's your clue to wait for the next train."

Bailey laughed again. "I would say you're probably right about that. I don't think I ever..."

But Bailey was interrupted.

"Well, well. Look who has finally remembered where she came from..."

Bailey turned and found Betty Lou standing there with her hands on her hips and staring at her. Bailey rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Betty Lou..."

Betty Lou smirked at her. "I hope your happy with yourself. Thanks to you, Moose is now the laughing stock of the whole town. Losing his girl to a city slicker and all..." She looked over at Cody. "This is the guy you dumped him for?"

Bailey paused to control herself. "Well, I figured that would make you happy. Moose is all yours now."

"Like I want to be associated with the town loser!"

Bailey shrugged. "Not my problem. Now, if you will excuse us, we were drinking our hot chocolates and talking."

Betty Lou turned back at Cody and gave a fake smile. And immediately, Cody cringed in horror. But Betty Lou continued. "And just what is so special about this guy anyways? It looks like a day in the fields would break him!"

Bailey smirked at Betty Lou. "Gee...let me think. Could it be that Cody actually is caring and sensitive? Or maybe its that he sees me as a person and as an equal? Perhaps its that he is also my best friend and respects me? You know, it might me that he's intelligent and can carry on a conversation about anything? Then again, maybe its because he actually knows what it means to be romantic? Actually, its all of the above. And no, he'll probably never be a farmer. But he wants to be a doctor. A noble pursuit if you ask me." Bailey grinned. "That, and his kisses could knock the flies off a cow...So, why don't you run a long now?"

"And if I don't?"

Bailey was about to say something when Cody stood up. "If you don't, I think we'll both see Bailey get mad. And if she does, she might rip out the last tooth you have in your mouth and force you to gum all of your food for the rest of your life. Now, as Bailey said, we were busy before you showed up. Buh bye."

Betty Lou just glared at Cody in contempt. "I should have known. All you big city folks think you are so much better than us. Well, I don't want folks around her to think I'm willingly associating with you anyways!" And with that, she turned and stormed off.

Cody was just shaking his head as Bailey turned around and laughed. "Bails...She only has one tooth!"

"I know...but...at least its in the middle..."

Cody began laughing. "I guess that's something..."

"Don't worry about her. She talks a big game, but I bet she'll be back in that barn again tonight..."

Cody shook his head. "That's the girl Moose threw you away for? Is he really that stupid?"

Bailey nodded. "Sure seems that way."

"Well, you are definitely better off then...You deserve so much better."

"I think so too."

Cody smiled. "There is something I have to ask..."

"What's that?"

"Is knocking the flies off of a cow a good thing?"

Bailey laughed. "Its a very good thing."

_To be Continued..._


	22. Prisoners of Love

_Chapter 22_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Eventually, Cody and Bailey returned back to the farm. And like they had promised, they were back in plenty of time for dinner. Cody was a little nervous that the Pickett family wouldn't like what he had prepared, but his fears turned out to be unfounded as everyone immensely enjoyed it. As Cody helped Eunice clear off the table, she smiled to her self as she let something slip.

"You know, Cody...Someday, you're going to make some lucky woman a fine husband..."

Neither Bailey nor Cody noticed that the other was staring at Eunice in surprise and horror.

That evening was spent just hanging around the farmhouse before everyone called it a night. The next morning, Cody wasn't as surprised when the rooster woke him up at dawn, but he knew he still wasn't used to it by a long shot. But, he crawled out of bed and proceeded to help Bailey with her morning chores. And when they finished that, it was time for breakfast. And as they were eating, Bailey turned to Cody.

"You're really going to enjoy the New Year's party tonight. Every year, everyone in town meets up at the Hornswaggle's barn...well because its the biggest one around. And we have a barn dance into the new year."

Cody nodded. "Sounds like fun, but I'm not a very good dancer...It would probably take me having a dance lesson every day for about three months for me to be decent..."

Bailey smiled at him. "I'm sure you'll do just fine..."

Eunice spoke up. "Actually, that reminds me. We need to get our party favors ready to take with us...Now, where did we put them?"

Clyde looked up at Eunice a little confused. "Same place we always keep them. Down in the storm shelter so they aren't in the way the other 364 days a year..."

Eunice sighed and shook her head. "That's right...Silly me."

Bailey frowned. "You feeling okay, Momma?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Bailey, Cody, would you two mind heading into the storm shelter and getting those boxes for us?"

Bailey shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Come on, Cody. I'll show you where they are."

Cody got up and followed Bailey out to the storm shelter. Once inside, Bailey walked over to the corner and found the two boxes where they always were. She handed one to Cody, and then picked up the other one herself. Right about then, they both heard a large slamming sound. Bailey looked over and discovered that the storm shelter door had been slammed shut.

"Must have been the wind. Happens all the time."

She sat down her box and went over to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Okay, this is weird."

Cody sat down his box too and went over to help.

"Maybe it will take both of us. Lets push at the same time on the count of three...1...2...3"

Both pushed as hard as they could, but the door still refused to open. Bailey frowned and shook her head.

"I've never seen it do this before. Its almost as if someone locked it from the outside."

Cody shrugged. "Well, before long, your parents will notice we're not back yet and come looking for us." He smiled. "We do after all have the party favors in here with us..."

Bailey laughed. "Very true." She walked over and pulled the chain on the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. "We might as well get comfortable while we wait."

Cody nodded and looked around to find two chairs against the wall. He pulled them over to the middle of the shelter, and both sat down.

"So, is this where you rode out that tornado when you were younger?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, it is..." She paused. "You know, it seems so much smaller than I remember."

Cody smiled. "What are you talking about? I could fit two of my dorm rooms down here. This place is palatial..."

Bailey laughed. "True...Hey, we usually keep bottled water down here. You want one?"

"Sure..."

Bailey got up and headed over to where the bottles of water were stored. And as she did, she turned back to Cody and grinned. "Good news is they should be nice and cold..."

But when she reached down to grab them, she found an envelope laying on top of them. And the strange part was that it was addressed to both Bailey and Cody.

"What the feathers?"

Cody looked over. "What is it?"

Bailey walked back over, sat down and showed Cody the envelope. She looked at him with a questioning look. "How did someone know that we would both be down here? I mean..." Bailey paused and groaned. "Momma..."

Cody frowned. "What? Are you implying she locked us in here together?"

"I'd almost bet on it..."

Cody paused to think. "There has to be a letter or something inside the envelope. Lets open it and see what's inside."

Bailey nodded and opened the envelope. She pulled out a letter that the both started reading to themselves.

_Dear Bailey and Cody,_

_Yesterday, while you were both in town, Cody's cell phone rang. It was his mother, and Carey Martin and I were able to have a very interesting conversation. We discovered we had quite a bit in common. We learned that we both are the mothers of very stubborn kids who we both just want to see happy. Well, it turns out both of our kids would be happy if we knocked some sense into them. But since Carey was in Boston, we decided this was the next best option._

_So, we decided that you two needed to be locked up together until you both quit being stupid and finally tell each other how you really feel about the other. Once you do, we will gladly let you both out of this storm shelter. And once we do, we both hope your happiness will override the anger you are both feeling towards us right now._

_Just remember, we both love you._

_Your mothers._

Bailey closed her eyes and slumped in her chair. What did her mother think she was doing? She knew Bailey had a plan to tell Cody how she felt when the time was right, and this was five months way too early!

Cody closed his eyes too. His mother knew why he wasn't going to tell Bailey how he really felt. And Bailey's mother had promised him she wouldn't say anything either. He groaned. She had said she wouldn't say anything, but it looked like she was going to make him say it!

"Look, Cody..."

"Bailey, you see..."

Both paused and looked at the other.

Bailey shook her head. "I'm sorry, my Mom did this..."

"She wasn't alone in this...This has my Mom written all over it too."

"I know, but my Mom knew I wanted to tell you this in my own time, and..."

Cody was confused and interrupted her. "What are you talking about? Your Mom told me she would never tell you what I told her..."

Now, Bailey was confused. "Never tell me what?"

Cody sighed. "I wasn't going to tell you because, Bails, you're my best friend, and I would never do anything to jeopardize that."

Bailey smiled. "Your my best friend too, and I would never do anything to jeopardize that either. But I hope you know you can tell me anything..."

"Really?"

Bailey nodded. "Absolutely."

Cody scrounged up all of his courage. Since the cat was almost out of the bag anyways, he decided to just do it. "Alright...here goes. Bailey..." He took one final deep breath and let it all out. "I've fallen in love with you. Look, I know you probably don't feel the same way, but I just hope we can still be friends and..."

But before Cody could continue, Bailey had pulled him in for a kiss. When she finally pulled back, Bailey was beaming, but Cody was sitting there shell shocked.

"What just happened?"

Bailey kept smiling. "You were babbling and not letting me say anything, so I had to shut you up somehow. Now, if you will let me talk, I have something to tell you too..."

Cody was still feeling the effects of that kiss. "What?"

Bailey reached over and took his hands in hers. "I've fallen love with you too, Cody..."

Cody just looked at her in complete amazement. "You have?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I have. I wanted to wait until I told you though. I wanted you to have time to get over your breakup with Barbara. And I wanted to break up with Moose and have some time so you didn't think I had fallen for you while I was still technically with him..."

"But why would you wait that long?"

"Because you said you would never get involved with someone who was still in a relationship, and I wanted to give you time so that you didn't think that..." She paused. "Now that I think about it, its rather confusing."

Cody smiled. "I did say that, didn't I? Well, I was talking about women like Barbara. But you two are about as different as night and day as Zack and I are. Bails, I know you would never do anything like Barbara did. And I could never say anything because you were still technically with Moose. No matter what I felt, I wasn't going to interfere with that. Plus, I was going to accept that having you in my life as my best friend was way much better than not having you in my life at all..."

Bailey laughed. "Wow...How stupid were we being?"

"Extremely..." He squeezed her hand. "So, what was this plan of yours anyways?"

"I was going to wait six months, tell you how I felt and hope by then that you couldn't live without me..."

"A six month plan? That sounds like something I would do. But you didn't need six months for me to realize I couldn't live without you..." Cody got serious. "You remember that breaking up with Barbara didn't really seem to bother me?"

"Yeah..."

"I didn't realize it at the time why, but it finally dawned on me. I wasn't upset about it because my heart already belonged to you by then..."

Bailey smiled. "When did you realize you were in love with me?"

"I think it was right after Thanksgiving. I couldn't stop thinking about those kisses in Boston. Those completely rocked my world. And I knew I wanted more. But it wasn't just those. All these memories of you flashed through my mind, and I could feel my heart racing and my palms getting sweaty. There was no one I wanted to spend time with more than you. And when that guy tried to attack you, I wasn't even thinking. If he was going to hurt you, he was going to have to go through me first."

"That completely endeared you to me even more. I felt so safe when I was with you. But you mentioned those kisses. Your world wasn't the only one that was rocked. If I'm honest, that last one in the coffee house when Barbara ran out, I continued it well after she had left..."

Cody smiled. "I'm not complaining."

"And like you, it was right after Thanksgiving that I finally admitted it to myself as well. I had loved every minute of that fake date we had in Boston. And pretty much all semester, Monica had been teasing me about you and me. But after Thanksgiving, I had to admit to myself that everything she had told me was 100% true. She even told me you had feelings for me too, but I couldn't let myself hope for that. I guess I'm going to get a big 'told you so', huh?"

"Probably, but I need to thank her for keeping those ideas in your head..." He paused and laughed. "And thank Zack for telling me anything was possible and not to give up."

Bailey smiled. "Lets worry about everyone else later. I mean...we are locked in down here for a while, and we don't know when we're going to get sprung..."

"Very true...But does this mean I have a date for this barn dance tonight?"

"Uh huh..."

"And does this mean I'll get to kiss you tonight at midnight?"

"Uh huh..."

"And does this mean I can really call you my girlfriend and it will be true?"

Bailey grinned. "Uh huh..."

Cody grinned back. "Good enough for me..." He leaned in and kissed Bailey again. "I mean it...I love you."

Bailey leaned in and kissed him too. "And I love you too."

They leaned in to kiss again, and this one was a lot more passionate. Bailey just reached up and clicked off the light.

_To be Continued..._


	23. A Compromising Position

_Chapter 23_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Clyde had finally come back inside from doing his morning chores and poured himself a cup of coffee to warm himself up. Sitting down in a chair in the kitchen, he noticed something. The house seemed to be a quiet...too quiet. He got up and began looking around trying to find anyone else, but he found nothing. Heading back to the kitchen, he sat back down and began to frown. Something was not sitting well with him at all. A few minutes later, Eunice walked into the kitchen and she humming happily.

"Honey, where is everyone?"

Eunice looked over. "Oh, Jenny, Wendy, and Sally are all staying over at a friend's house tonight. They've all already headed out."

Clyde nodded. "And Bailey and Cody?"

Eunice turned away. "Oh...I haven't seen them in quite a while..."

Clyde just looked at her suspiciously. "Eunice...Where are Bailey and Cody?"

"I'd rather not say..."

"Eunice..."

She sighed. "Fine. When Cody's phone rang yesterday, it was his mother. We got to talking, and we decided something needed to be done to give our kids a little push..."

Clyde groaned. "What did you do?"

"We decided to lock them in the storm shelter until they both finally admitted how they felt about each other...They've been in there for about an hour now."

Shaking his head, Clyde got up. "I'm going to go let them out. Somethings have to happen on their own time no matter how much you want them to happen."

He headed outside and saw the outside latch on the door was in place. Reaching down, he lifted it, and opened the shelter door. Of course, the sight he saw surprised him. Sitting in the dark was his daughter and Cody in a tight embrace with their lips seemingly permanently attached to the others. And they were totally oblivious to the door just opening. Crossing his arms, he cleared his throat as loudly as he could.

Cody and Bailey immediately broke their kiss and turned and saw the open door. But with the sun directly behind whoever was standing there, they couldn't tell who it was.

"Hello?"

Clyde walked down the stairs slowly and into Cody and Bailey's view. Immediately, Cody realized his new girlfriend's father had just caught them in a rather intense make out session.

"Uh oh..."

Clyde just glared at them. "What do you two think you are doing?"

Bailey sighed. "Well...nothing now!"

Clyde shook his head. "I just found out about the little scheme both of your mother's came up with, and I was just coming to free you both and end the awkwardness. But I see I'm a little too late for that, huh? Me thinks something has changed..."

Bailey nodded. "Yes, Daddy. Cody and I finally told each other that we love each other. He really is my boyfriend now."

"I can see that. Well, before I have to get the hose out, why don't you two untangle?"

Reluctantly, Cody and Bailey pulled apart from each other.

Clyde continued. "Bailey, why don't you head on back in the house. Cody, if I might, I'd like to have a few words with you."

Cody's eyes went wide as Bailey protested. "Daddy!"

"Bailey, if you are going to be with Cody, and if I'm sending you all the way back to Yale to be alone with him, I would like to have a little chat with him."

Cody was nervous as he could be, but he rubbed Bailey's back. "Its okay, Bails." She turned to him to make sure, and he nodded to her. She leaned in and hugged him again before getting up and heading out of the shelter.

Before she left though, she turned to her father. "Behave yourself. Please don't try to scare him off..."

After she left, Clyde closed the door and turned around. By the expression on his face, Cody wasn't so sure he wasn't about to be killed and buried right there in the storm shelter. But he was putting on the best facade of bravery that he could. Clyde kept looking at him as he walked over and took the chair that was previously occupied by Bailey. Clyde kept staring at Cody for what seemed like forever.

Cody decided to break the silence. "Mr. Pickett, I know what you saw looks bad, but I'd like to try to explain..."

Clyde cut him off. "So, I understand that you love my daughter."

Cody swallowed and nodded. "Yes, sir. I'm in love with Bailey. When I said she was the most beautiful person inside and out, I meant that."

"I sure hope so. Nothing is more important to me than seeing my girls happy. And you seem to make Bailey happy..."

"I assure you sir, the feeling is mutual. I've never been as happy in my whole life as I've been this past hour."

Clyde nodded. "So, I won't have to worry about you doing what Moose did?"

Cody shook his head vigorously. "No way. Having had that done to me as well, I wouldn't wish that feeling on my worst enemy let alone the woman I love."

"And you'll continue to look after her up at school? Keep her safe?"

"You have my word."

"And you'll promise to treat her right and do what ever it takes to keep making her happy?"

"I swear."

"And you'll encourage her to pursue her dreams and not get in the way of them?"

"Absolutely. I already know Bailey will make a wonderful pediatrician. Plus, if we go to medical school together, I'll get to keep my favorite study partner. I know Bailey has a bright future ahead of her, and I want to be a part of it."

Clyde paused. "Will you respect her and treat her like the lady she is?"

"Of course. She may be my girlfriend now, but she's still my best friend. Before, I was scared of doing anything that would jeopardize my friendship with Bailey. Now, I refuse to do anything that would jeopardize not only friendship with her but my relationship as well. I like to think I have the best of both worlds now. Sir, I can't say I really know who Moose is, but from what I've seen and heard, he has to be the world's biggest moron."

Clyde nodded. "I can't say I disagree." He grinned. "I have to say...you had a look on your face like you thought I was going to kill you and bury you down here."

Cody laughed nervously. "Well, the thought had crossed my mind."

"Well, you ever do anything to hurt my little girl, and that may become a reality. If you treat her right, you and I will get along just fine."

"I understand, Mr. Pickett. That's one thing you don't have to worry about. I know how special she is. I would never do anything that I thought would hurt her. If I did, I would save you the trouble and dig the hole myself. Your daughter is one of kind, and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world because she loves me too."

Clyde smiled. "I think we have an understanding then. And by the way, please...call me Clyde."

When Bailey had left the storm shelter, she made her way into the house. And she found her mother standing in the kitchen washing the dishes from breakfast. Bailey put her hands on her hips and just stood there glaring. Eventually, Eunice turned around and saw her daughter glaring at her.

"Bailey..."

"I can't believe you did that!"

Eunice paused. Had it not worked out the way she was sure it would? "Honey, we were just trying to help..."

Bailey sighed. "Well, thanks to you, Cody's not my best friend any more..."

Eunice just stood there in complete shock. "But..."

Bailey grinned. "He's my boyfriend and my best friend now!"

Eunice squealed and ran over and hugged her daughter. "That's wonderful, Honey!"

Bailey smiled. "Yeah, it is...And I should be upset with you, but I'm not. If you and Carey hadn't conspired against us, I shudder to think of all the time would be missing. I guess Cody and I were on the receiving end of the scheme this time."

Eunice smiled back. "Well, just remember...no matter how hold you are, sometimes your Momma still knows best." She paused. "Where is Cody? I wanted congratulate him too."

Bailey sighed. "Daddy wanted to have a word with him alone down in the shelter. Probably didn't help that he found us in a compromising position."

Eunice just gave her a look. "Compromising position?"

"What? I was kissing my boyfriend after someone locked us in the storm shelter. You had to see that coming"

"Well, it worked, didn't it? Besides, I'm sure your Dad just wants to make sure Cody doesn't turn out anything like Moose did."

Bailey shook her head vigorously. "Never happen. Of that, I have every confidence. I think it was good we were friends first. We have that friendship as the basis of our relationship. I mean, we're already comfortable with each other and have gotten to learn each other's quirks and mannerisms."

"I think that's good too. Now, I'm guessing your first official date will be at the barn dance tonight?"

Bailey smiled. "Yeah, he even asked me to make sure. I can't wait."

Eunice smiled. "That's sweet. Carey Martin and I thought you two should start the new year off the right way."

"We will..."

Eunice paused. "So...Were those kisses just the way you remember them?"

"Mom!"

"What?"

Bailey just shook her head and laughed. "Even better..."

Eunice smiled again. "Good. I'm truly happy for you, Bailey." She paused. "You know...I did mean it when I said he would make some girl a fine husband..."

"Mom..." Bailey blushed. "We've only been dating for about an hour..."

"Oh please. I see the look on your face. Besides, I'd say its more like four months anyways."

"You know...I know I haven't known him all that long, but I just have this feeling..."

Eunice grinned. "I had a similar feeling when I met your father. Trust your instincts. Remember, I told you to follow your heart, and look where its lead you."

About that time, Clyde and Cody came walking into the kitchen. Clyde noticed his daughter's face take on a look of apprehension when they entered . He smiled at her.

"Don't worry...I didn't kill him or threaten him...much. I just wanted to make sure Cody and I were on the same page on a few things. And I'm satisfied that we are. Bailey, if this is what you really want, you have my full and complete support"

Bailey smiled back. "It is, Daddy. I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Cody smiled at her. "Me either."

_To be Continued..._


	24. A Night to Remember

_Chapter 24_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The rest of the afternoon was spent taking it easy. With all of the morning chores already done, everything else could wait for the new year. So, Bailey and Cody just hung out in the family room taking it easy. Of course, by then, Cody did have a few questions about that evening.

"So, what is the proper attire for tonight anyways?"

Bailey smiled. "Most guys are in jeans and a button up shirt and their boots."

"Jeans and a button up shirt I have, but the closest thing I have to boots are my steel toed shoes. And I only brought those in case they may come in handy on the farm."

"I'm sure you'll look very handsome."

Cody grinned. "And what exactly will you be wearing?"

Bailey just shot him a grin back. "I'm saving that as a surprise for you."

"Alright...but I know you will look absolutely gorgeous. I've never seen you look otherwise even in your bunny pajamas."

Bailey laughed. "Thanks, Sweetie...I think."

"I do have to ask one more thing. I'm assuming tonight will last past midnight. Will Foghorn still be try to wake everyone up at dawn tomorrow?"

"Yeah, he will, he never takes a day off."

Cody nodded. "Okay, but don't be surprised if I look like the walking dead tomorrow."

Bailey laughed again. "That's why we always try to take a nap on New Year's Eve so we have as much rest as possible."

Cody laughed this time. "A nap? Today? I don't think that's possible. I mean, I still on a high from earlier today." He paused. "Besides, if I went to sleep, I'm afraid I'd wake up and find out this was all a dream..."

Bailey laid her head on Cody's shoulder and snuggled in closer to him. "Trust me...Its no dream. But, don't you think taking a nap right here like this would be nice?"

Cody could only smile. "I can think of nothing I'd rather do..."

Several hours later, Cody was finishing getting ready. After showering, he decided that evening was warranting one of his bi-monthly shaves. And before getting ready, he took his time ironing and pressing his shirt, undershirt, jeans and even his socks. Once he was dressed, he checked himself in the mirror and was satisfied with what he saw. But before leaving the bathroom, he gargled his mouthwash three times.

Heading downstairs, Cody was too anxious to sit down, so he ended up pacing back and forth. And that's exactly how Clyde found him.

"Everything okay, Cody?"

Cody whirled around. "Oh...just a little nervous I guess. This is our first real date after all."

Clyde nodded. "True, but then again, its not. Most couples don't profess their love for each other before their first date."

Cody had to laugh. "That's good point. But, I just want everything to be perfect." He paused. "Well, I guess there was that fake date we went on in Boston to help my brother out. That did go pretty well, but that was more a practice date than anything else..."

"Don't worry about it being perfect. Just try to have a good time. By now, Bailey already knows who you are, so just be yourself." He paused. "Come with me..."

Clyde led him into the kitchen where Cody noticed there were two single roses sitting in a small vase.

"Every New Year's, I give Eunice a single rose before we leave. I figured you might want to give Bailey one as well."

Cody just smiled. "I definitely would. Thank you so much."

"Well, grab you flower. I think our dates will be down shortly."

And they were. Not more than thirty seconds after the men had returned to the living room, Eunice and Bailey both slowly descended down the stairs. And both Clyde and Cody were left speechless. Clyde walked over to his wife and handed her the rose.

"You look lovely, my dear."

Eunice just smiled and kissed her husband. "Thank you."

Likewise, Cody walked over to Bailey and handed her the rose. But, his tongue wasn't able to form the words he wanted to say because she looked just that beautiful. So, all that came out was "Wow..."

Bailey just grinned at him. "I'll take that as a compliment. And you're looking very handsome yourself."

Cody just shook his head. "Your Dad and I will be the envy of everyone as we will have the two loveliest ladies as our dates..."

Clyde smiled. "That goes double for me."

Both of the ladies just beamed at their dates. "Lets get going then."

Thirty minutes later, they had arrived at the Hornswaggle barn, and walked inside. Once there, Cody and Clyde gathered everyone's coats to take them back out to the truck. And while their fellers were gone, Eunice and Bailey walked around.

"I bet your super excited for tonight, aren't you?"

Bailey just smiled. "Yeah, I am. I can't think of anything better than dancing the night away with Cody."

"Well, he looks very dapper tonight."

Bailey laughed. "I know...but I am betting he's the only one here who's entire outfit can be found in the J. Crew catalog."

Eunice laughed. "Probably. And it almost looked like he ironed everything..."

Bailey nodded. "Oh, I'm sure he did. He has his quirks, but those don't matter."

"What doesn't matter?"

Both turned around to find Clyde and Cody had returned. "Oh, Momma was telling me people were giving me some interesting looks when I came in with you. I was telling her those don't matter to me. In fact, I say we take the dance floor and give them something to really look at."

Cody shrugged and smiled. "Alright, but I did warn you that I'm a terrible dancer..."

Bailey just grabbed his arm and dragged him out on to the dance floor. And immediately, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist. And for the next several songs, they just swayed in each other's arms as they looked into each other's eyes.

"I ever tell you that you have the warmest, brownest eyes I've ever seen? That day in the coffee shop, I was getting lost in them."

Bailey smiled. "I was the same way. I felt like I was drowning in two of the bluest pools, and I wasn't minding it a bit."

"I'm guessing both Boston and Kettlecorn have become special places for us..."

"Yeah, they have...Speaking of Boston, what did your Mom say when you called her with the good news?"

Cody grinned. "I haven't yet. She set me up, so I figured I'd return the favor."

"Is that so? What do you have in mind?"

Cody leaned in and whispered in her ear. Bailey couldn't help but laugh.

"I like it...And you call me the devious one."

"Hey, this will only be my first scheme. You already have three under your belt."

Bailey smiled. "Speaking of which, when are we heading back?"

"Well, dorms reopen on the fourth and classes start back the ninth. I don't have as much to do before classes start this semester, but I still need to get my schedule done and buy books."

"So do I...I think we should try to schedule as many classes together again as possible. I think it really worked well for us."

Cody grinned. "Well, we did both get 4.0s last semester, so who am I to complain?"

Bailey grinned back. "How does heading back to New Haven on the sixth sound? We can do we we need to do and then have the whole weekend just to ourselves."

"I like it. I like it a lot."

"And I've promised your Mom I'd make a return trip to Boston. How about we leave here on the third, and that will give us a few days there?"

"I'll call London tomorrow."

Bailey pulled him in closer. "Until then, you are mine and all mine."

"K..." Cody leaned down and kissed Bailey right in the middle of the dance floor. And neither were in any hurry to break it. And the only reason they eventually did was to catch their breathes.

Bailey smiled. "Is it just me, or did it just get a lot warmer in here?"

Cody smiled back at her. "It sure did. How about I go get us a couple of corna-colas?"

"I'd love one."

Cody headed off as Bailey made her way off the dance floor and off to the side. She ran into a couple of people she had gone to high school with and spent a few minutes catching up with them. And as she was talking to them, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around expecting to find Cody, but she found Moose instead.

"I need to talk to you!"

Bailey sighed. "Why? We have nothing to talk about. We really haven't for a few years now. You've moved on in your life, and so have I. I couldn't be happier with where my life is now...happier than I've been in a long time."

"That's a load of bull and you know it!"

"The only load of bull I see is the one standing in front of me. Now, if you will excuse me, my boyfriend should be back soon and I would prefer you not be here when he does."

Moose glared at her. "You want me to admit I screwed up? Fine. But that was partially your fault!"

Bailey was incredulous. "My fault?" She began laughing. "Oh please. I didn't make you go barn hopping with Betty Lou. You did that of your own free will. But I will say...thank you, Moose. After dealing with you, I know how truly lucky I am to have Cody."

"That scrawny feller? Tell me one thing he's got that I don't!"

Bailey smiled. "My heart. For the first time, I know what it truly means to love and be loved by someone. If you clean up your act, maybe you can find that someday too."

At that moment, Cody returned over with their drinks. Bailey smiled at him. "There you are, Codykins." She kissed his cheek as she took her drink from him.

Cody frowned. "Is everything okay, Bails?"

"Of course. Moose was just leaving. Seems like Barbara, he wanted one last chance of getting me back. But I just told him that would never happen. I've already got the guy I'm supposed to be with. Come on, lets go mingle some more. I want to show off my feller to everyone..."

Cody just shrugged and smiled. "Alright."

Bailey winked at him. "You know, Sweetie...maybe you and I can head out to our barn tonight and see what all the fuss is about?"

Cody grinned. "Nothing I would like better, my little hay bale..."

At that mention, Moose's eyes went wide again and his face turned red. "Over my dead boy, little feller!"

He grabbed Cody's shoulder to turn him around and pulled back his fist. Moose threw a punch, but luckily, Cody had enough time to dodge it. And without thinking, Cody quickly jabbed his fingers towards Moose. The next thing anyone knew, Moose was down of the floor out cold. By that time, Clyde and Eunice, who had scene the confrontation taking place, had arrived on the scene.

"What just happened?"

Bailey was confused. "Moose threw a punch at Cody, but he ducked it. Next thing I know, Moose was on the floor unconscious."

Clyde turned to Cody. "What did you do?"

Cody took a deep breath. "I just used a karate move I know on him. You go after two pressure points and it renders someone incapacitated."

Clyde just looked at him before he just started laughing. He clapped Cody on the back. "You just took down a guy twice your size with two fingers. Never saw that coming..."

Bailey wrapped her arm around Cody. "Let me guess...You've used that a few times to keep Zack in line, right?"

"A few..."

She smiled. "You'll have to teach it to me later so I can use it to keep you in line. But right now, I want to dance some more." She lead Cody back on to the dance floor, and everyone else began dispersing too leaving Moose passed out on the floor all by himself.

The rest of the night continued on, and Cody got even more looks from people. But he also got several congratulations and pats on the back. None of that mattered to him though as he got to spend the evening dancing away with the woman he loved.

Finally, it was close to midnight, and the countdown had begun. And as it did, Cody pulled Bailey even tighter into his arms.

"Here's to the first of what I hope will be many, many new years we'll get to ring in together."

Bailey smiled at him. "I hope so too...You know. They say you're supposed to kiss the person you want to spend the next year with at midnight on New Year's Eve."

Cody smiled. "I'm about to do that."

Bailey smiled back. "Me too."

"Happy New Year, Bailey."

"Happy New Year, Cody."

And as the countdown reached one, they both leaned in and kissed each other, completely oblivious to everyone and everything around them.

_To be Continued..._


	25. Back to Boston Part Deux

_Chapter 25_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The next morning, Cody was woken up once again by Foghorn at the crack of dawn. But that morning, he didn't mind one bit. He even didn't mind that he'd only gotten four hours of sleep. In fact, he jumped out of bed feeling invigorated and more alive than he could remember. But he wasn't the only one, Bailey had a spring in her step the next morning too. Both gladly did the morning chores with smiles on their faces even though it was snowing heavily. Of course, the lack of sleep finally caught up to them and they both passed out on the couch during the Rose Bowl. But, it was just a game between the Pac Twelve and Big Ten (+2), so they didn't miss much.

The next day was spent just hanging out around the farm in Kettlecorn. But January 3rd finally arrived, and it was time to head back east. So, Clyde and Eunice drove them back to the private airstrip in Kettlepot for them to catch the plane back to Boston.

Cody spoke to Clyde and Eunice. "Thank you both so much for welcoming me into your home. These days here in Kettlecorn have been among the best of my life. I'll never forget them."

Eunice hugged him. "Well, we've enjoyed having you around. Please feel free to come back at anytime."

Clyde shook his hand. "What my wife said. Now, we do fully expect you to take good care of our little girl."

Cody smiled. "I promise you both...I will."

Bailey hugged her parents. "I'm going to miss you so much, Momma and Daddy."

"We're going to miss you too, Pumpkin. You take care of yourself, you hear me? And take care of Cody here too."

Bailey nodded. "I will. And I'll be back soon. At the very latest, this summer."

Eunice smiled at her. "Just keep doing what you're doing. We're all very proud of you, Honey."

"I will..." Bailey exhaled. "I guess this it then. Time to get going."

With one last hug, Cody and Bailey boarded the private jet and got themselves settled into their seats. And before long, they were airborne. Most of the flight, Cody and Bailey just wrapped their arms around each other, relaxed and just talked about what had happened the past few days as well as what the next week of their lives would bring. Of course, Bailey got to experience the flight attendant just staring at them and waiting for them to say something. But before they knew it, they were landing in Boston. And to their surprise, at the general aviation terminal, there was a car waiting on them to take them back to the Tipton.

Bailey smiled. "Did you arrange this?"

Cody shook his head. "Not me. I was planning on calling us a cab." He paused. "The only person who knew we were coming back today was London."

"You think she did this?"

But before he could say anything, the driver walked up to them.

"Welcome back to Boston. Miss Tipton would like to congratulate you both on your new relationship, and she sent me to bring you back to the hotel."

Cody's mouth hung open in surprise. "But how did she...?"

The driver smiled. "Miss Tipton knows everything...especially when it concerns her friends."

Cody and Bailey shrugged and climbed into the car as the driver loaded their bags into the trunk. And like he said, he drove them straight to the Boston Tipton. This time, they entered through the front door. After gathering all of their bags on a luggage cart, they pushed it over to the elevator and up to the 24th floor. Once outside the Martin's suite, Cody turned to Bailey.

"You remember the plan?"

Bailey smiled and nodded. "I remember it. Just don't carry it out too far. We do have her to thank for us finally being together."

Cody leaned in and kissed her. "I won't."

Cody slid his key into the door and opened it. Bailey and Cody unloaded their bags into the suite, and as they did, the door to Carey's bedroom opened. She walked out, saw Cody and Bailey together and smiled.

"You're both back! I knew our plan would work!"

Cody smiled. "Oh yeah. Its been a whirlwind couple of days. I think we're ready to rest after everything that happened."

Bailey nodded and smiled. "I'll second that..."

Carey grinned. "We have you two done since then?"

Cody turned to Bailey. "Should we tell her?"

"Yeah, we should. She'll find out soon anyways..."

Cody nodded and turned to his mother. "Well, it just kind of happened Mom. We were in the moment and basking in our love for each other, we decided to go ahead and get married!"

Carey's eyes went wide. "You did what?"

Bailey nodded. "Its true. I love Cody, and Cody loves me. We just figured it was the next logical step..."

"But...but...but...But you're only 18!"

Cody shrugged. "So? We're the same age as Bailey's parents, and they have a long and happy marriage. Its what we want too..." He paused. "You are happy for us, aren't you, Mom? I mean...you did plot and scheme to get us together..."

Carey paused. "Well, yeah...But I just figured you two were starting a new relationship. And I kind of figured I'd be invited when you got married, Cody..." She shook her head and exhaled. "Just remember...I'm not ready to be a grandmother yet!"

Bailey smiled. "We decided that if it happens, it happens..."

Carey rubbed her eyes. "Oh wow...Well...I guess welcome to the family, Bailey..."

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other and couldn't hold their laughter back any longer. Carey just looked at them funny.

"What?"

Cody smiled. "We're just messing with you, Mom. We thought it would be a fun payback against you for your meddling..."

Bailey smiled too. "Not that we minded...we're actually very happy that you did. Cody just wanted to have some fun with you..."

Carey sighed with relief. "Oh thank God!" She shook her head. "Okay, okay...I deserved that. But right now..." She walked over and pulled them both into a hug. "...I'm just so happy for the both of you!"

Bailey laughed. "Well, we're pretty happy ourselves."

Carey grinned. "Good. Now, come on in and sit down and tell me everything that actually happened."

So for the next half an hour, Cody and Bailey filled his Mom in on everything that had happened in Kettlecorn.

"Well, again, I'm happy for you both. I just want my boys to be happy, and I can definitely tell Cody is. And Bailey, I know I have you to thank for that."

"He makes me just as happy."

Cody paused. "Speaking of boys, where's Zack?"

"Oh...Today's his last day of work. He begins moving into his dorm tomorrow. Speaking of which, how long will I have you two around?"

"Weather permitting, our plan is to head back Friday morning."

Carey shrugged. "Its only a few days, but I'll take it. Oh, by the way, your brother isn't very happy with you at all..."

Cody frowned. "Why? What did I do?"

Carey laughed. "You took your car keys with you. He was so ticked off your car sat down in the garage without him being able to use it."

Cody shook his head. "Oh well...I had other things on my mind."

Carey looked at him. "Of course, with you back, I guarantee he'll have you help him move stuff over to his new dorm."

And Carey was correct. Several hours later, Carey had gone to practice, and Cody and Bailey were alone in the suite just kicking back and watching a little TV. Well, that was their original plan. It pretty much dissolved into a make out session right there on the couch. That was until the front door of the suite swung open, and Zack and Maya walked into the suite. Immediately Cody and Bailey broke apart, but the lipstick smudges all over Cody's face were kind of hard to miss.

Cody sighed. "Does an alarm go off every single time we have some alone time together?"

Zack just laughed. "Well, I see why Cody was gone for so long now...But you two can knock it off now, I told Maya the truth that you two were just good friends..."

Cody looked over at Bailey and grinned. "Actually, that's not correct any longer. Bailey really is my girlfriend now. And what you barged in on was for our benefit, not yours..."

Zack shook his head. "Hold up here! When did this happen?"

Bailey smiled. "New Year's Eve. We finally admitted that we were in love with each other."

Zack turned to Maya. "See...I'm totally responsible for this. I'm the one that had them pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend, and they liked it so much, they decided to do it for real."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Uh huh..." She turned towards Cody and Bailey and smiled. "Congratulations to you both...and we're sorry to interrupt."

Zack shook his head. "Interrupt, shminterrupt...They'll soon have Cody's single dorm room all to themselves."

Cody turned to Bailey again and grinned. "For once, Zack actually has a good point..."

Bailey playfully swatted his shoulder. "I know, but he's also right that we shouldn't just hide ourselves away while we're here..." She saw the look Cody was giving her. "...even as much as we both want to."

Cody sighed. "Fine. Do I at least get a rain check?"

Bailey grinned. "Of course..."

Maya smiled. "Good. How does a movie sound tonight?"

Cody and Bailey shrugged, but that's what they ended up doing. But they didn't have too late of a night. Because the next day, they did indeed have to help Zack move into his dorm. After loading Cody's car with with all of Zack's things, they began the drive over to Chestnut Hill. Fortunately, with several people helping, it didn't take long for them to unload everything. And as they were finishing, the dorm room door opened, and a larger guy with glasses and crazy hair walked in. And seeing everyone in the room, he frowned.

"Dang it! Are all of you my new roommates?"

Bailey and Cody just looked at each other while Zack walked over to the guy. "I'm Zack Martin. I'm your new roommate." And he extended his hand.

The guy shook it. "I'm Woody Fink. Nice to meet you. You're Maya's boyfriend, right?"

Zack nodded. "That's me. That's my twin brother Cody and his girlfriend, Bailey."

Woody nodded. "Nice to meet you both." He turned to Zack. "I have to ask. You aren't a neat freak are you?"

Zack laughed. "Not a chance."

Woody sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I don't think I would have been able to handle it if you had been one."

"I hear you're from Cleveland originally. What brought you to BC?"

Woody shook his head. "My Step dad, Steve. He's such a huge jerk, I wanted to get as far away from him as I could. And I met my girlfriend, Addison on that game, Better Life. She said she was coming here, so I figured I could get away from him and be with her. And the good news is the cafeteria in the basement has a Mexican buffet every Wednesday night!"

Zack grinned. "Excellent!"

Cody leaned in to Bailey and whispered. "We've done our good deed. Lets get out of here and let the roommates bond."

"And where will we go?"

Cody smiled. "How does the seaquarium sound?"

Bailey grinned. "Perfect. But how do we get out of here undetected?"

Cody paused. "I have an idea." He walked over to Woody and Zack. "Yeah, Zack's never been neat a day in his life. Our old room used to be a pigsty. Oh, and a word of warning, he likes to fart...a lot and share them."

Woody's eyes went wide. "Sweet! I can fart Stairway to Heaven, and I'm working on one right now that sounds like an owl!"

"Awesome! We might be able to use that for some fun around here! I've been looking for a new partner in crime ever since my brother left for Yale. Back at the Tipton, Cody and I used to get into all kinds of trouble like that all the time. Isn't that right, Codester?"

Zack turned around and noticed Cody and Bailey were nowhere to be found.

__To be Continued...__


	26. Back to School

_Chapter 26_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After seeing everything they wanted to see at the Boston Seaquarium, Bailey and Cody began to head back to the Tipton in hopes of a quiet evening at home. Of course, they did make one stop one the way home. They decided to drive past Harvard and point and laugh in a show of school spirit. And once they got back to the hotel, they both just fell back into the couch. And with Zack at his new dorm room and Carey out either at rehearsal or performing, they were finally all alone again. Cody even cooked Bailey dinner again in what he called their second official date. And both were relieved that their new relationship hadn't really changed much between them. There was still the constant jokes and teasing they both had grown so accustomed to before. Their comfort level together had even grown as they could now be completely open with each other. And yes...being able to kiss the other whenever they wanted was nice too. In fact, that whole evening and next day, the only time they weren't together is when Eunice called Bailey and Cody slipped out to run an errand.

The night before they left, they did have dinner with Carey in the hotel's restaurant. And to Carey's chagrin, they had invited Arwin to join them. When Arwin got up to go to the bathroom, Carey looked over at them.

"What are you two up to?"

Cody just smiled. "You helped set us up, we're just returning the favor. With Zack and I both gone now and without our own girlfriends, we thought it was time you got back into the game too. So, we decided to give you a little push."

Carey shook her head and signed. "I think I like it better with you two focusing your energies on your studies and not my love life. Though, I guess turnabout is fair play."

And by the next morning, it was time to head back to school. With a potential blizzard due to hit New England late Friday evening/early Saturday morning, Cody and Bailey were packed and ready to head off back towards New Haven early that morning. They wanted to make sure they had the time do what they needed to do before the weather hit. Carey hugged them both goodbye once again, but this time her advice to them was a little different.

"Cody, I know you two love each other. Just remember she is the woman you love and respect her. Remember you are a gentleman and there is no need to push or rush things. You have something special here."

Cody nodded. "I know."

Carey hugged Bailey. "Please keep taking care of my son for me."

"I will."

"I know we both said he can be a pain sometimes, but..."

Bailey interrupted her. "But neither of us can imagine life without him..."

Carey smiled. "Exactly. I feel a thousand times better knowing he's with you now. You're good for him...really good."

"I feel the same way about him. And I promise to take real good care of him." She smiled. "I'll try to keep him out of trouble."

Carey grinned. "I wish you luck then..." She paused. "I know, I may be biased, but I think my son is really special..."

Bailey nodded. "I know he is..."

And with that, they were off back to school. And three hours later, they were back in New Haven for the first time in several weeks.

Bailey smiled. "You know...It kind of feels like were home now."

Cody nodded. "It does, doesn't it? Its good to be home."

Bailey nodded, and they began unloading their things. They dropped off Cody's bags first before loading themselves up with Bailey's things. Making their back up to her room, they found the door already unlocked and Monica already back from break. She sat up from her bed and smiled at them when they came in.

"Good. You're back."

Bailey smiled back. "Yeah, I'm here. Hope you had a good break."

"I did...How was yours?"

Bailey turned to Cody and grinned. "Very memorable..."

Cody grinned back at her. "That goes double for me."

Monica looked back and forth between them. "Something's different, isn't it?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah...You were right all along. We both finally admitted how much we love each other."

"Its about time!"

Bailey had a small smile on her face. "We know. And if you want to say 'I told you so', I deserve it..." And with that, Bailey told Monica everything that happened in Kettlecorn over the semester break.

"I'm just happy for you both..." She shook her head and laughed. "All of those other girls around here are going to be so disappointed."

Cody frowned. "What other girls?"

Bailey turned to him and gave him her best innocent look. "Well...Seems there are other girls around here wanted a shot at you too..."

Cody paused. "So, you didn't tell me this just so you would have me all to yourself?"

Bailey nodded. "I wouldn't admit it to myself, but...pretty much."

Cody grinned and leaned in to give her a peck on the lips. "Thank you." He turned to Monica. "And thank you for constantly pushing my girl here and for telling her not to give up hope. I owe you one."

Monica smiled. "Don't worry about it. My reward will be not to have to deal with Bailey first in denial and then as a lovesick puppy."

Cody leaned in and kissed Bailey's cheek. "Well, Sweetie, I'm going to head down to unpack my things. When you're ready to head over to advising, just knock..."

Bailey smiled at him. "I will..."

Cody paused. "On second thought..." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a Yale key chain with a single key on it. "...why don't you just come on in?"

Bailey looked at Cody in surprise. "A key to your room?"

Cody smiled. "I already told you mi case es su casa. Now, it really is."

Bailey smiled back at him and kissed him again. "Now its my turn to thank you."

"Well, I'll leave you ladies be. See you in a little bit...Bailey Bunny."

Bailey laughed. "Count on it, Cody Kitten..."

And with that, Cody left to go unpack his own things. Bailey just stood there looking at the key in her hand and smiling.

"Unbelievable!"

Bailey turned to find Monica smirking at her. "What?"

"He just gave you a key to his room. I can't even get my boyfriend to open a door for me! And what's with these pet names? I am so going to have a talk with my boyfriend!"

Bailey just smiled. "Go easy on him."

Monica shook her head. "Well, I guess I'll see even less of you this semester than I did the last one..."

"Why do you say that?"

"You have a key to his room now. I'm expecting you'll be spending more nights there."

Bailey paused. "I don't know about all of that. I mean, we did just start dating..."

Monica laughed. "Get your mind out of the gutter girl. I don't mean like that. Besides, I get the feeling Cody isn't the type to pressure you to do anything."

"No, he's not."

"I just meant that with some of your late night studying sessions, it would just make sense for you to stay down in his room if you got tired again."

"Well..." Bailey stopped to think about that. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience him any more. I bet his desk chair wasn't very comfortable..."

Monica shook her head again. "I don't mean that either. You did just tell me about you two taking a nap together all cuddled up on New Year's Eve."

"So?"

"Think about it!"

Bailey frowned and then it hit her. "Oh..."

"Exactly!"

"I would have to talk to Cody about that. I'm not one to pressure him into anything he's not ready for either."

Monica smiled. "I'm confident you two will figure everything out."

Bailey continued to unpack her bags and put away all of her things. Once she was done, she made sure she had her student ID card and headed down to the basement. She was about to knock when she decided against it. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the key Cody gave her and unlocked the door. Opening it up, she poked her head inside.

"Cody?"

But she didn't see him anywhere. So, she stepped into his room.

"Cody?"

That's when she heard his voice. "Just a minute!"

Bailey turned and saw his bathroom door was closed with light coming from the bottom of it. Next thing she knew, she heard a flush and then the sink turn on. Cody stepped out of his bathroom with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Hey...Sorry I wasn't out here to properly welcome you."

Bailey laughed. "Not a problem."

"You ready to get out of her?

"Yeah, lets get this done before the weather hits."

They immediately headed for their adviser's office, and an hour later, they walked out with identical schedules that would further them along toward their degrees. And a stop by the campus bookstore was next on the agenda. And once again, both walked out with almost a thousand dollars in books and supplies for which Yale was picking up the tab. As they were driving back to the dorm, they decided to make a run to a local grocery store so they would have drinks and snacks in their rooms. While they were inside, the storm clouds began rolling in to New Haven. And when they came outside, the snow was already beginning to fall pretty good.

Cody turned to Bailey. "I say we get back to the dorm and call it a day. This looks like it could get nasty."

Bailey nodded. "I think that would be a good idea."

Once back, they lugged their books and groceries up to their respective rooms. And as Bailey was organizing her things, there was a knock at her door. She opened it to find Cody holding a single rose again and smiling.

"I was hoping the beautiful young lady would accompany me to the dining room so I may have the honor and privilege of her company for dinner."

Bailey smiled. "The young lady would be delighted to accompany the handsome gentleman for dinner."

Cody extended his arm. "Shall we?"

Bailey took Cody's arm. "We shall."

Of course, after being gone several weeks, eating in the dining room was bitter sweet. They had shared so many meals there before, and it felt so natural. But they had forgotten how bad the food could be. Bailey did happen to notice some of the other girls there giving her dirty looks when they left hand in hand, but her attention was diverted when Cody turned to her.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?"

Bailey paused. "Well, whatever it is, it will have to be indoors."

"We can watch some TV or a movie or borrow some of the dorm's board games..."

Bailey grinned. "Board games, huh? You're on!"

"Tell you what. I'll go see what they have, and you go grab something to get comfortable in. If we're going to lounge around, we might as well do it right!"

Bailey laughed. "Alright."

A few hours later, Cody and Bailey were sitting back on his bed, their arms wrapped around each other. Bailey was shaking her head.

"I can't believe you beat me at Trivial Pursuit. I've never lost at Trivial Pursuit before..."

Cody looked at her. "Well, you beat me at Scrabble. I've never lost at Scrabble before..."

Bailey looked up at him and they both started laughing.

Cody teased her. "You know I'm going to have to get you for that..."

"Oh yeah? How are you going to do that?"

"Like this!" And with that, Cody began tickling her. Bailey was starting to laugh and trying to escape from his clutches.

"Cody!"

Bailey did the only thing she could think of and began tickling Cody back. Of course, he began laughing too as they both continued to try to outdo the other. And as they were squirming about, Bailey ended up on top of Cody with them both looking into the other's eyes.

"Draw?"

Cody nodded. "I can live with that."

"Me too."

"You know what I can't live without now?"

"What?"

"These..." Cody leaned up and stole a kiss.

Bailey smiled at him. "Is that so?"

"Uh huh..."

"Well, I suppose I can live with that too."

She leaned down and stole one from him. When Bailey tried to pull back, Cody wrapped his arms around her and wouldn't let her. But finally, both did need air.

"Smooth, Mr. Martin..."

Cody grinned. "I couldn't help myself..."

Bailey sighed in contentment and snuggled herself against Cody's side. "I don't want tonight to end and have to go back up to my room..."

"You know you don't have to, right?"

Bailey looked up at him. "Cody..."

He grinned. "I didn't mean that. I just meant I don't want you to go back to your room tonight. I want you to be here beside me when I go to sleep, and I want you to be here beside me when I wake up. You know...like that nap we took only longer. I liked waking up with you there right next to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." He paused. "But if you don't want to, I completely understand. I would never push you to do anything you don't want to do."

Bailey smiled at him. "I know. And I want to fall asleep and wake up next to you too. I enjoyed it too."

Cody was tentative. "Well...it is getting late."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah...it is."

"I'll get the lights if you turn down the bed."

A few minutes later, both were back in bed, all cuddled up together under the covers. Cody leaned over and kissed Bailey. "Good night, Bails...I love you."

Bailey kissed him back. "Good night...I love you too, Codykins..."

Cody smiled at her. "You're really not going to give that up, are you?"

_To be Continued..._


	27. The Morning After

_Chapter 27_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The next morning, Cody and Bailey were still fast asleep in his bed. At some point during the night, they had repositioned themselves so that Cody was now spooning Bailey with his arms wrapped around her. And due to the day before being their first day back in the dorm, Cody hadn't set his alarm clock yet. So, there was nothing to awaken them early. Instead, they both just woke up at their own leisure.

Bailey was the first to wake up. And when she did, she realized something was different – in a very good way. She could feel Cody's arms wrapped around her protectively and hear his gentle snoring from behind her. Sighing in contentment, she just snuggled in closer to him and closed her eyes again. She was in no hurry to be anywhere else right then.

A little bit later, Cody began to stir as well. And he sighed in contentment as well. He could feel Bailey in his arms as well as smell the scent of her hair in his nostrils. Smiling, he leaned into to nuzzle her neck and place small, gentle kisses on it. And that's when he heard it. It was another sigh of contentment, and he knew he hadn't made that one. So, he leaned in further and whispered.

"Good morning, Beautiful..."

Bailey grinned and turned to face him.

"Good morning to you too..."

Cody leaned in to steal a morning kiss, but this time it was Bailey who captured his lips and held it a moment longer. When they finally broke apart, Cody smiled.

"I could definitely get used to this..."

"Me too. How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby. Not sure I've ever slept better in my whole life."

Bailey smiled at him. "Yeah?"

Cody smiled back. "Uh huh...how did you sleep?"

"You remember me telling you that I had a good dream the first time I slept in your bed?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. The one you didn't remember."

"I think I just lived out that dream...but the reality was so much better."

"Good. Because I have no desire to go anywhere right now."

Bailey smiled at him. "Well, I have to get up."

Cody frowned. "Why? Its Saturday morning..."

Bailey leaned in and kissed him. "Because I have to use the bathroom."

"Oh..." Cody laughed. "Well, I guess that would be alright."

Bailey laughed too. "I'm glad you're okay with it..." And with that, Bailey slipped out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Cody decided to check on the status of the weather and climbed out of bed too. He walked over to the window and opened the curtains. Seeing snow covering half of his window and seeing it was still snowing through the visible portion, he shuddered. He was so engrossed in watching Mother Nature doing her thing that he didn't hear the toilet flush or sink turn on. The next thing he knew was he had an arm circle around his waist.

"Whatcha doing?"

Cody turned to Bailey. "Just noticing we're literally snowed in."

Bailey looked out the window too, and her eyes went wide. "Wow...it looks cold and miserable out there."

Cody grinned at her. "One perk of living in the dungeon...geothermal heat."

Bailey laughed. "That's true. Well, looks like were stuck indoors today."

Cody kept grinning. "I don't mind..."

"Me either."

"As far as I can see, we don't have any homework until Monday, so we have two options. We can go ahead and get breakfast, or we can go back to bed where it was a lot warmer."

Bailey smiled at him. "While door number two is oh so tempting, I think we should go ahead and get moving for the day. You know, get our bodies conditioned to being up and out of bed early for Monday."

Cody sighed as he nodded. "You're right. That would be the wise thing to do..."

Bailey kept smiling. "Besides, we'll have plenty of time to snuggle together later."

A smile broke out on Cody's face. "I will look forward to that with eager anticipation."

"I'll just go shower and change and meet you in the dining hall in thirty minutes."

Cody paused. "Actually, why don't you put on some sweats and pack you another pair of lounge wear to put back on later?"

"Why?"

Cody grinned. "I know we have to get serious again on Monday, but how would you feel about being a little silly today?"

Bailey grinned back. "I could go for that. What do you have in mind?"

"Who says we have to stay inside? How about we head outside and build a snowman or make snow angels or just act like kids?"

"I love it! I haven't built a snowman in years."

"This is going to be fun!"

With one final kiss, Bailey headed back up to her room while Cody got ready to take a quick shower. When Bailey got back to her room, Monica was still in bed, but looked up when her roommate came back into their room. And she just grinned at her.

"Do I even have to ask?"

Bailey shook her head. "Nope. I spent the night in Cody's room."

"And where did Cody sleep?"

Bailey smiled. "Right next to me. But that's all that happened."

Monica shook her head. "Anything else is none of my business. I do have to ask though. Will I have the room to myself again tonight?"

Bailey paused. "I don't know. Cody and I haven't discussed it yet..."

Monica smiled. "Well, if you two have another slumber party, my boyfriend will be most appreciative."

Bailey shook her head and laughed. "None of my business this time..."

Monica laughed too. "I mean he just called me, and the heat on his floor went out overnight. He was hoping he could stay with me tonight while they fixed it."

"Tell him to come on over then. I'll ask Cody, but I don't think he'll mind at all. Cody and I were going to go play in the snow, and I was going to pack up some clothes to change into afterwards. I can just pack something to change into tomorrow."

Monica smiled. "Thanks. Don't forget your toiletries too. He does have his own bathroom after all."

Bailey smiled back. "No need to. Cody has more toiletries in his bathroom than I do."

Monica laughed. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. Cody has a thing about cleanliness. His bathroom is spotless."

She shrugged. "Oh well. I do envy you in that."

"In what?"

"You have a boyfriend who has his own bathroom and its not nasty. If mine did, I'd never use the communal ones we have here where you never know when it was cleaned last. And a shower without shower shoes? That would be heaven."

Bailey laughed. "I hadn't thought about that." She paused. "But I wouldn't want Cody to think I was taking advantage of him."

Monica rolled here eyes. "Like he would care."

"Maybe I'll bring it up when I talk to him in a bit, but, right now, I need to go grab a quick shower."

A little while later, Cody watched Bailey walk up to him in sweats, her coat and a large bag over her shoulder. As she got closer, he grinned at and teased her.

"You moving in?"

Bailey frowned. "Well, I thought..."

Cody grinned again. "I'm kidding."

"Well, Monica's boyfriend's floor lost heat last night, and he asked if he could stay with her tonight. If I could..."

Cody cut her off. "Then you're staying with me tonight. Glad we already have that established."

Bailey sighed. "I don't want it to seem like I'm taking advantage of you."

"You're not. Come here." Cody lead them over to their usual table and sat across from her. "Bails, when I gave you the key to my room, I meant what I said. My room is now your room too. I want you to feel comfortable there. Kind of like a second home to you. I already assumed you knew that any food or drinks I had in the room you were welcome too."

"Really?"

Cody smiled. "Of course. I would never deny my beautiful girlfriend anything. Besides, if I expect you to spend so much time there with me, I want it to be a place you want to spend time in."

Bailey smiled back at him. "I already do. So, would you mind if I used your shower in the morning?"

"Of course not. Help yourself to anything in the bathroom you want or need." He teased her again. "All I ask is that if you use my razor, you tell me. You hear all kinds of horror stories of a guy's girlfriend using his razor, and the next time he uses it, he nicks up his face horribly."

Bailey laughed. "I can handle that. It will be nice not to have to use shower shoes for a change."

Cody frowned. "Why have you been using..." And then it hit him and he grimaced. "Ewww! Why didn't you say something before? As far as I'm concerned, you can use it everyday if you want."

Bailey smiled at him and leaned over to kiss him. "Thank you, Cody."

"You are very welcome. And if you want, I'll clear out some closet space and drawer space so you can have room to put some of your things. That way you'd have clothes already there and won't have to keep going back and forth and packing a bag."

"It'll be like I'm really moving in."

Cody smiled. "And it'll be like I finally have a roommate that won't drive me insane."

Bailey laughed. "If I do this, I insist on doing my fair share. I insist we take turns cleaning the bathroom, and I insist we take turns buy snacks for the room." She paused. "That's why I think we work so well together. We see each other as equals."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, we do." He paused to think. "You know, there is some extra space in my room. Maybe we can grab one of the extra desks from a common area so we both have a work space?"

Bailey grinned at him. "Don't want me falling asleep on your bed again?"

Cody grinned back. "Not without me there right next to you..."

_To be Continued..._


	28. To the Victors, Go the Spoils

_Chapter 28_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After a hot breakfast, Cody and Bailey headed back to Cody's dorm room to drop off Bailey's bag. And while they were there, they emptied their pockets of anything they didn't want to get wet. While they were there, Cody rummaged through a few drawers and boxes trying to find something to use as eyes for their snowman. Once he found some old bottle caps to go along with the carrot they smuggled out of the dining hall, they both wrapped up warmly and headed outside.

Being smart, they found chunks of ice to use as cores for their three snowballs. The ice made it easier to roll the snowballs, and before long, they had a large base built right outside of Cody's window. Making two smaller snowballs, they finished their snowman. Bailey placed the eyes as Cody fitted in the nose. After adding a few sticks for arms to complete it, they stepped back.

"Not bad if I do say so myself..."

Bailey smiled. "I know. And its like we have a guard for the room now."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I guess we do...What should we name him?"

Bailey paused. "How about Kirby?"

Cody smiled. "Kirby...I like it. For some reason, it seems appropriate."

"I know. I..." But before Bailey could finish, she was hit with in the back with a snowball. Cody and Bailey turned and saw Monica and her boyfriend grinning at them. And they had even more snowballs ready to unload on them.

"Take cover!"

Cody and Bailey dove behind a small line of shrubs. Cody began packing snowballs himself.

"Never fear, milady...I shall defend your honor!"

Cody rose up and launched several snowballs back in the direction of Monica and her boyfriend. Of course, that lead to them focusing their next barrage on him.

Bailey grinned. "I think you've made them angry..."

"I think so." Cody began packing an even bigger snowball. He stood back up, threw it and yelled. "Take that, Czolgosz!"

Bailey laughed and began packing her own snowballs. She stood and began throwing in rapid succession at her roommate. "And that's for you, Guiteau!"

Of course, that brought another barrage of snowballs their way. As they huddled behind the shrubs, Bailey turned to Cody.

"We need a decisive blow to end this once and for all."

Cody nodded and turned around to scout the situation. Finally, he saw something and grinned.

"Bails, I have an idea. You see that tree branch right above them?"

Bailey looked and nodded. "Yeah..."

"Those pine needles are full of snow. One good hit, and we can cause a chain reaction that will dump a ton of snow right on top of them."

Bailey looked again. "Maybe...You think you can hit it?"

Cody shook his head. "I know better than that, but I have ever confidence that you can though. So, I'm going to be a decoy and draw their fire towards me. Once they're distracted, you throw a strike and and victory is ours."

Bailey smiled. "I'll do my best."

Cody leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "For good luck...and in case I don't make it back, I love you."

"I love you too...be careful out there!"

Cody grinned and nodded, and crawled to the other side of the shrub. After gathering a few more snowballs, He ran out and began hurling snowballs. And like he thought, the new hail of snowballs were aimed right at him. Once Bailey saw that she had her opening, she aimed her throw and let it go. She watched as it hit the branch. Seemingly, it caused a chain reaction, and a whole avalanche of snow fell...right on top of Monica and her boyfriend. Bailey gathered two snowballs, and ran over to them, poised to fire again.

"Surrender?"

Monica looked up at her roommate. She was totally covered in snow. "You got us...We surrender. I'm now soaked to the bone and freezing. I'm going inside!"

Bailey smiled. "That'll teach you!"

She turned to find Cody only to see him lying back in the snow. Concerned, she ran over and knelt down next to him.

"Cody! Are you alright?"

Cody looked up. "Bails...I'm hit...I don't think I'm going to make it."

Bailey smiled at him. "Is that so?"

"I regret I only have but one life to give for my lady..."

Bailey leaned down and kissed him. "How do you feel now?"

Cody grinned. "Better...But I might need a few more of those...you know, just to make sure."

"Uh huh...Well, I suppose." She leaned down, but Cody was ready for her and flipped her over onto her back. He was still grinning as Bailey began laughing.

"Cody!"

"Yes, my dear?"

Bailey grinned. "Good thing you aren't a theater major. I wasn't buying that for a second!"

Cody put his hands over his heart, but he was still smiling. "You wound me. Say what you will about me, but not my thespian abilities! Besides, in the last two months, you've already praised my acting skills several times..."

Bailey laughed again. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Yes, I am...about you."

"Well, I guess I can deal with that. Although, right now, my sweats are soaked, and I'd deal with it a lot better inside and in dry clothes."

Cody laughed. "I can take a hint." He stood up and offered his hand to help pull Bailey up. Several minutes later, they returned back inside Cody's room. Of course, Bailey was shivering and her teeth were chattering. Cody looked at her in concern.

"Are you alright?"

Bailey nodded. "Just a little cold."

"Tell you what. Why don't you grab a hot shower and warm up, and I'll head up to the dining room and get us some soup and sandwiches to go..."

Bailey smiled. "You would do that?"

"Sure. While I go put on some dry clothes, just write down everything you want."

A few minutes later, Cody came out of the bathroom in a long sleeve t-shirt and pajama pants. He slipped on his slippers and walked up behind Bailey.

"Write down everything you want?"

Bailey turned. "Yeah, I..." She paused and grinned. "You're going up there like that?"

Cody shrugged. "Why not? I'm not trying to impress anyone around here."

Bailey teased him. "Not even me?"

Cody grinned. "By now, you already know what you've gotten yourself involved with."

Bailey smiled. "Yeah, I do. Best decision I've ever made..."

"I know that feeling. Alright, you go get warmed up and I'll be back soon."

Bailey just kept smiling and shaking her head as she watched Cody leave. Turning, she grabbed her a few things from her bag and headed into the bathroom. And once she was under the hot water, she closed her eyes and sighed. She was definitely going to get used to this. Soon enough, she was sufficiently warmed up – which was good as the water was beginning to cool off. Quickly dressing, she hung up hers and Cody's wet clothing up over the shower curtain rod. She did have to smile to herself. Seems Cody was a boxers guy.

Back out in the room. She found the two trays Cody had and set them up side by side next to the bed, and then got each a cold drink out of the refrigerator. Turning, she turned the TV on and tried to find something on they would both enjoy watching. And as she was doing that, the door opened again.

"Honey! I'm home!"

Bailey looked over at him and laughed. "I can see that."

Cody grinned. "I always wanted to say that."

Bailey showed off the trays in front of the bed. "Well, I have the table set with our fine china."

Cody just shook his head and placed the bags of food on the trays. He slipped off his slippers and took a seat next to Bailey on the bed. Bailey was going through the things in her bag when she turned and smiled.

"You got everything just the way I wanted."

Cody grinned. "Well, I can read directions. And your not a doctor yet, so your handwriting is still legible."

And for the next twenty minutes, they sat side by side eating and trading the occasional good humored barb with one another. Once they were done, Cody gathered their trash and took it out to the trash bin down the hall while Bailey put away the trays. When he got back, Bailey grinned at him again.

"You took the trash out without me having to tell you to do it. Good boy! More and more reasons for me to keep you around."

Cody joined her, and both slid back and lounged on the bed to relax. They found a movie on TV both liked and just snuggled together with Bailey laying her head on Cody's shoulder.

"Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

Bailey looked up at him. "For showing me what its like to have a boyfriend who really cares about me and who I really care about. For showing me how wonderful it is when two people can just be themselves with each other. For showing me that its okay to be serious and silly too. And most importantly, for being you. We've only been officially dating for a little over a week now, but I already know I have the best boyfriend."

Cody smiled at her. "Well, I should be thanking you as well. I have to say...I'm really liking having a girlfriend who actually wants to spend time with me."

Bailey smiled. "Of course I do. I missed you way too much when we were apart over Christmas."

"And I'm thankful that I have a girlfriend who can disagree with me in a civilized way. Me...and my toes...are grateful. I know at some point we will have disagreements and arguments. We're two strong minded individuals, so its bound to happen. But I promise you, even if we do argue, it will never change how I feel about you."

"Same here."

"And I'm thankful that I'm in love with my best friend. I have the best of both worlds. I can hang out with you like this, but I can also do this..." He leaned down and began nibbling on her earlobe.

Bailey giggled. "Cody..."

Cody gave her his best innocent look. "What? You're my only friend I can do that with and not worry about getting punched in the face."

Bailey teased him. "You're making an awfully big assumption right there..."

"So, that's off limits with you too?"

"I didn't say that."

Cody pulled her closer to him. "And for the record, I have the best girlfriend too. You do get me and understand me..." He paused. "Has it really only been a week?"

Bailey smiled. "Yeah. That was you locked in the storm shelter with me."

"Oh, I definitely remember. Its just kind of funny."

"What is?"

"I've only been your boyfriend for a week, but after a week, the differences are mind blowing. You already know me better than Barbara ever did. And I don't feel the need to constantly try to impress you. I can just be me, and its okay. I've spent more time with you in the past week than I did with her in the last year I dated her." He stopped and lifted up her chin. "And I got used to not seeing her. I missed you terribly when I went to get lunch. For the first time in my life, I know what its like to truly be in love with someone else."

Bailey smiled up at him. "Can I just say ditto? Cody, I feel the same way. You know me in a way that Moose never could. I never have to worry that you'll get upset if I tell you what I want. Just the opposite. You help me find a better way to accomplish it. You support my dreams and my goals and share them with me. And never once have you pressured me to do anything. Again, just the opposite. From the day I met you, you've been a total gentleman. And I love the way we can be comfortable with each other like this. I know I can talk to you about anything and nothing. We can do anything or nothing, and that's fine with me as long as I'm with you. And like you said, for the first time in my life, I know what its like to truly be in love with someone else."

Cody leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I'm glad Zack got me on the banned list from Harvard. I'm glad I had to end up matriculating here to Yale."

"I'm glad I chose Yale over Princeton."

Cody teased her. "Princeton? What were you thinking? Its the armpit of the Ivy League!"

Bailey laughed. "True, but in my defense, it was my first offer of a ticket away from the farm." She teased him. "Who knows? I might have found someone there who wasn't a germaphobe and a minor obsessive compulsive."

"Maybe, but I know one thing about him though..."

"What?"

Cody smiled. "No way he could love you as much as I do..."

Bailey smiled back at him. "You think so, huh?"

"I know so."

"And that's why I'm glad I came to Yale. I don't have to worry about that. Like I told your Mom, you can be a pain. But there is a very good reason I keep you around. Because I love you that much too."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Good to see my old "buddy" SK still can't get enough of my stories. Anyways, for those who don't know, Leon Czolgosz was the assassin of President William McKinley, Charles Guiteau was the assassin of President James Garfield. Everyone knows**** Booth and Oswald or even Sirhan, but I figured Cody and Bailey would throw out the more obscure ones**__.  
><em>_


	29. The Pop Block

_Chapter 29_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

For the rest of the afternoon, they both just stretched out together on Cody's bed. And both were enjoying having the time and opportunity to just kick back and do nothing. Soon enough, they would get back to the grind of school, and they wanted to enjoy the time they had to just focus on each other. And they did watch a little TV as a movie marathon came on that they both enjoyed. But just laying there, both got very comfortable. Once one of the movies ended, Bailey looked up and saw Cody's eyes were closed, and he was snoring softly. She just grinned at him.

"Cody?"

His eyes opened, and he began looking around. "Huh? What?"

Bailey laughed. "You fell asleep. Its only been a week. Am I boring you already?"

Cody shook his head. "Not at all. I guess I just got really comfortable." He smiled. "Not my fault you are so warm and cuddly."

"Is that so?"

"Definitely. Moose must have been crazy when he said you were frigid..."

Bailey sighed. "I think he meant that in a different way."

Cody paused. "Yeah, I think I remember something about a knee to the groin."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah. My dreams weren't the only thing he didn't respect. A lot of people our age back in Kettlecorn either didn't finish school or graduation was as far they got. Most were ready to began working on the farm and popping out kids. That was never for me as I had other dreams. But that was what Moose wanted, and he wanted to get started as soon as possible. I kept telling him no, but he never really listened to me. Finally, I got tired of telling him no for the hundredth time and gave him a clear signal of just how I really felt."

"Did he listen to that...signal?"

"Actually, he did, but I think that's when he started taking up with Betty Lou. I guess I was so happy to get him off my back that I didn't see he was on someone elses."

Cody squeezed her hand. "His loss."

"I guess he thought I was kind of a prude, but I don't think I am. I just didn't want to risk something getting in my way and preventing me for doing what I want to do. Plus, I knew deep down he wasn't the right guy for me and didn't really care about me. Guess I'm one of the few remaining 18 year old virgins in the world."

Cody paused and smiled at her. "Maybe so, but you aren't the only one in this room..."

Bailey looked up at him. "Really? You and Barbara never..."

Cody shook his head. "Nope. Like I said, we weren't really that close the last little while. I admit, I'm a healthy 18 year old guy and have urges. But, I also knew that wasn't the answer to what was wrong with our relationship." He paused. "I guess she was finding her own answers elsewhere..."

Bailey squeezed his hand this time. "Her loss."

"Besides, call me old fashioned again if you want, but I like to think that sex is something you do with someone you love. If you don't, it just seems empty and lacking to me. To me, its another way of expressing to someone how much they mean to you. I might be wrong though..."

Bailey smiled at him. "I don't think so. I completely agree with you."

"Bails, I won't lie to you. As was once said, you are a smoking hot babe. You're gorgeous. But I also respect you, so I hope you know I would never ask you to do something you don't want to do. However, I do know that when we kiss, I tend to get lost in them, so I apologize if my hands...wander a little bit. All I ask is you tell me before you knee gets involved."

Bailey laughed. "You have nothing to worry about. You aren't the only ones who get lost in them. And your hands aren't the only ones that might wander. But, Cody...I trust you. I know you respect me. I've known that for a long time. You have nothing to worry about from my knee."

Cody smiled at her. "Bails, I want us to both be comfortable with whatever we do. We can go as slow as you want. I have no problem with that whatsoever. And I hope you know yours is the only barn I want to...whatever you actually use a barn for."

"I know. I knew that when you gave me a key to your room. You wouldn't do that if you had anything to hide. And I'd give you one to mine too, but I don't think Monica would like it if you happened to walk in on her..."

Cody laughed. "Probably not."

"Besides, I think she was right when she said she'd see even less of me this semester. I like being here...because you are here. I hope you know you have nothing to worry about either. I know what else is out there, and no thank you. I just got you...no way I'd ever risk throwing that away."

"I wouldn't either. Unfortunately, we both know what that feels like when others don't care."

"Yeah, we do. And while that sucks, in some ways, its a good thing. We were both there for each other when we had to deal with it. When I saw how hurt you were, my heart broke for you. I wanted to go rip Barbara's hair out."

Cody laughed. "Well, I wanted to punch Moose in the face. But, I knew that would have only made him angrier. So, I just did the only thing I could think of..."

Bailey smiled at him. "It didn't matter what you did. What mattered was that my knight in shining armor was once again there for me." She snuggled in closer to him. "How about we talk about much more pleasant topics and try not to bring up the B word and the M word ever again?"

Cody grinned. "I can go along with that. What pleasant topic did you have in mind?"

"How about this one?" She reached up and pulled him down to her for a kiss.

"Mmmm...My favorite topic..." Cody leaned down and kissed Bailey this time. And neither one was in any hurry to break it. Both must have been getting lost in it as hands began to wander again. Well, they did until they heard an unmistakeable sound.

Both groaned and untangled. Cody sighed. "Is that your phone or mine?"

Bailey sighed too. "I bet its my Mom..."

"No way...has to be my Mom. Or Zack. He interrupted us the last time too. I almost bet its him..."

Bailey laughed as she climbed off the bed and walked over to the desk where both their phones laid. Looking down, she saw which one was ringing.

"Its yours, and its from a number in Florida."

Cody frowned. "Who do I know in Florida?"

Bailey smiled and handed him his phone as she snuggled back up against him again. "Why don't you answer it and find out?"

Cody shrugged and hit the talk button. "Hello?"

"_Cody!"_

Cody smiled. "Hey, Dad. What are you doing in Florida?"

"_Enjoying the sand, surf and sun. I actually dropped my cell phone in the pool, so I'm using the pay phone out by the pool bar."_

Cody laughed. "Sounds rough, Dad...especially since we're in the middle of a blizzard here."

_Kurt laughed too. "Well, I'll try to enjoy it for the both of us. Anyways, I called Zack a little while ago, and when he was telling me about his new girlfriend, he mentioned you have a new one as well. That's my boy!"_

Cody shook his head. "Its true, but I told you all about it in an email I sent you last week."

"_Cody, I'm still only halfway through the one you sent me about breaking up with Barbara. It was over twenty pages long."_

"Well, you've read the ones where I've told you about Bailey, right?"

"_The farm girl?"_

"Yeah, Dad. Well, she is my girlfriend. Actually she's more than that..." Cody smiled at Bailey. "She's the woman I love."

"_Whoa! Didn't see that coming. You sure, son?"_

"Positive."

"_Well, I can't wait to meet her then. Speaking of which, that brings us back to the reason I called. I'm doing a show in New York City over Valentines Day weekend. Zack's bringing his girlfriend down for it, I was hoping you would as well. Everything will be on me."_

"Let me ask Bailey." Cody lowered the phone. "My Dad is having a concert in New York City on Valentine's weekend. Zack and Maya are coming down for it, and he wants to know if we wanted to as well. What do you think?"

Bailey smiled and nodded. "Sure. It'll be a weekend, so we can have done what we need to have done before we go. Plus, it'll be nice to finally meet your Dad and to see Zack and Maya again."

Cody smiled. "Sounds good." He lifted the phone back up. "We're in, Dad."

"_Excellent! I'll call you back when I have more information for you..." Kurt went silent._

"Dad?"

"_Sorry, Cody...I just saw two ladies walk past in the skimpiest of bikinis. I need to go introduce myself. Talk to you later..."_

Cody just looked at his phone and laughed. Bailey looked up at him. "What?"

"My Dad saw two girls in bikinis, so he went to introduce himself..."

Bailey laughed. "Okay...Why do I get the feeling you take more after your Mom and Zack takes after your Dad?"

"Probably right..." He smiled. "But, I am looking forward to Valentine's weekend in New York City with you."

"Me too. I can't wait to see the Empire State Building lit up with the hearts."

"Yeah, me too. Plus, I get a chance to really romance you."

Bailey grinned. "Is that so? I think you already do a good job of that as it is..."

"You do?"

"Uh huh...As I recall, you were doing an excellent job before the phone interrupted us..."

Cody grinned. "I do seem to remember we were doing something...Now, what was that?"

Bailey leaned up and kissed him. "Does that ring a bell?"

Cody pulled her up on to his lap and kissed her back. "Every single time, Bails."

_To be Continued..._


	30. A Bad Idea

_Chapter 30_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The rest of Saturday night was spent hanging out in Cody's room just lounging around and watching more repeats of cheesy movies from the '80s or starring former cast members of Saturday Night Live. Bailey wasn't sure why, but she had noticed Cody had an affinity for all movies starring Adam Sandler. She wasn't sure why exactly, but she just went with it. When it got time for dinner, they decided they would rather eat in again. But this time, they both hit the the dining hall in their lounge wear.

"You sure?"

Bailey smiled. "I'm not trying to impress anyone either. Besides, I spent all day dressed like this, and I didn't hear you complain once..."

Cody nodded and grinned. "You got me there. Alright, let's go."

And like lunch, they got their food and brought it back to the room to eat. After dinner, it was more lounging before they both demanded a rematch in Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble respectively. It may have been a different day, but the results were still the same. Afterwards, neither was ready to give up though in the pursuit of gaining victory over the other. But, by the time they finished both games again, it was getting late.

Bailey turned to Cody. "Its after midnight. You about ready for bed?"

Cody nodded before he paused. "Actually, this might be the perfect time to do something. Follow me..."

Fifteen minutes later, after finding one that Bailey liked, they carried a free desk from one of the common areas into Cody's room. Then, they spent another fifteen minutes arranging the desks in a way that both of them would be happy with. After trying numerous different layouts, they decided to have the desks face each other. Once that exhausting task was completed, 'borrowing' another desk chair for Bailey was relatively easy.

Once done, they were indeed ready for bed. And once again, they both fell asleep snuggled up with each other. Sunday morning, they both decided they should probably get out of the room some at some point that weekend so people would know they were still alive. So after showering and changing, they actually had breakfast in the dining room. Once they finished eating, both went about getting their things organized and ready for the next day.

"You know, if you want, you can just keep all of your books and things on your new desk. Since that's where will be studying, wouldn't that make the most sense?"

Bailey smiled at him. "I guess, but I don't want to just take over your room with my things."

"I told you it was your room now too."

"I know, but I think tonight I should sleep in my own bed."

Cody frowned. "Why?"

Bailey smiled at him. "Am I the only one who remembers that we were in bed for at least an hour last night before we went to sleep?"

Cody shook his head. "No, but I won't apologize for cuddling and sharing kisses with my beautiful girlfriend. I thought you enjoyed that as much as I did?"

"Sweetie, I did. But tomorrow is our first day of classes. We both need a good night's sleep going into it. We need to be ready to dominate again." She smiled at him again. "Besides, I fully plan on spending all day with you. And you'll see me first thing in the morning. I'm not giving up your shower..."

Cody sighed and smiled. "Alright, you make a valid point. But I want it put on the record that I already know I'm going to miss you."

"Duly noted. But, look at it this way. We'll both be asleep, and we'll see each other before we know it. Besides, I was thinking we could watch the Patriots-Chiefs game this afternoon together. How does that sound?"

Cody paused. "Well, that does sound fun..." He grinned. "But are you sure you can handle watching my Pats destroy your Chiefs?"

"Yeah, like that's going to happen. With Jones and Charles, We'll run all over you defense..."

"You seem very confident...You willing to place a small friendly bet on it?"

Bailey smiled. "Name it!"

"The person who's team loses has to give the winner's team a foot rub..."

"You're on! Besides, what do I have to worry about? Who can take Tom Brady and his flowing locks seriously? I mean, what kind of guy would wear his hair that long?"

Cody stayed silent and looked away. "Well..."

Bailey just looked at him when realization dawned on her. "Oh my gosh! You used to have long hair, didn't you?"

Cody sighed. "It wasn't that long...maybe shoulder length. And I cut it my sophomore year of high school. It was just easier to maintain and manage shorter. But to be fair, I did have long hair before Tom Brady did." He smiled. "And while his girlfriend may be a supermodel, I would trade places with him for anything..."

Bailey smiled. "That's very sweet of you..."

"Well, I wanted to soften the blow when your Chiefs get annihilated."

Bailey just laughed. "Its on, Goldilocks!" She paused. "I'm just trying to picture it, and I can't. Next time we're in Boston, I'm going to have to see pictures..." She paused and grinned. "I've been there twice now. I can't believe I haven't asked to see baby pictures yet..."

Cody just gave her a look. "That's fine...but just remember what they say about paybacks. Next time we're in Kettlecorn, I'll have to ask to see them too."

Bailey just smiled. "Fine with me."

Cody shook his head. "Of course it is...You're were probably just as adorable then as you are now..."

"Thank you again, Sweetie...Come on. We have a football game to watch."

And they did. Three first half touchdown passes by Tom Brady didn't make Bailey feel too good about the Chief's chances. And a pick six to start off the second half dashed her hopes even more. Cody bit his tongue and tried not to rub it in...too much. With two minutes to go in the game, New England was up 42-14. Bailey shook her head and turned to Cody.

"Go ahead..."

Cody played dumb though. "Go ahead and what?"

"Rub it in..."

He grinned. "Actually, I think it will be you doing the rubbing."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine...Let's get this over with..."

Cody shook his head. "Uh uh. We never said when the winner had to cash it in his reward. I think I'd like to wait and hold on to it." He grinned at her.

Bailey shook her head. "Fine..."

Cody leaned over and kissed her. "That is unless you want to go double or nothing..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Definitely! What are the terms?"

Cody paused. "Well, I would like another chance at Scrabble..."

Bailey began laughing. "This is going to be too easy..."

And Bailey was right. For the third time that weekend, she defeated him in Scrabble. Although, this time, it came down to Bailey's final word to pull it off. Once it was over, Cody was just staring at the board and shaking his head.

"This hurts...this hurts bad..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Its okay, Babe. Maybe in a year or two, you'll finally pull one out and win a game against me."

Cody just looked at her and sighed. "I'm not sure whether to be upset at the thought of losing for two more years or by psyched by the thought of getting to spend at least the next two years with you like this..."

Bailey leaned in and kissed him. "Go with the latter."

Again, for dinner, they made their way to the dining hall, and then settled back in for an evening of hanging out in Cody's room. As it got late, Bailey was snuggled up against Cody again and beginning to feel tired.

"What time is our first class tomorrow?"

Cody looked down. "8:30. And then 10:00 and then at 1:00."

Bailey nodded and yawned "Okay, I should be getting up and back to my room before I fall asleep again. I'll be here at 6:30 for the shower."

"You know...you don't have to head back..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Cody, we've already been over this..."

He sighed. "I know, but I thought I'd give it one last shot."

"I do appreciate you wanting me here with you. That means a lot to me. But, I should get moving."

"Alright...I'm at least going to walk you back to your room though."

And Cody did. He walked Bailey up to her room, and stopped her right outside the door.

"Well, I guess this is goodnight then."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"One thing I have to do before I go though..." Cody pulled her into his arms and kissed her as passionately as he could. "Goodnight, Bailey. I love you."

Bailey felt her knees weakening, but could only grin back. "Yeah...Goodnight, Cody. I love you too..."

That night, both tossed and turned. Neither one could quite get comfortable without the other there beside them. And when Cody's alarm went off at six in the morning, he dragged himself out of bed. Even a hot shower wouldn't fully wake him up. And it was in his half asleep state, with him only dressed in a t-shirt and boxers that, he answered the knock at his door at 6:30. Opening the door, he saw an equally disheveled Bailey carrying a small bag and her backpack.

Fighting back a yawn, she mumbled. "Hey..."

Cody mumbled back. "Morning...Shower is all yours..."

Bailey just nodded and made her way into the bathroom. Without thinking, Cody proceeded to get ready and grabbed his backpack. He flipped on the TV to verify the day's weather to make sure he was dressed warmly enough. And about thirty minutes after she entered the bathroom, Bailey reemerged looking slightly better but still tired. Cody walked over to her and smiled.

"Lets try this again. Good morning, Bails."

She smiled back at him. "Good morning, Cody." She leaned in and gave him a good morning kiss. "You look as tired as I feel..."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I didn't sleep well at all last night."

"Excited about the first day of classes?"

Cody paused. "I'd say that was about 25%. The rest was missing you..."

Bailey smiled at him again. "I didn't sleep well either, but I'd say it was 80% missing you..."

Cody smiled back. "For the good of our studies, are you going to make me spend another night without you next to me?"

Bailey laughed. "Well, as long its for educational purposes, how can I say no?"

Cody sighed in relief. "Thank you. After class today, I'll clear space for more of your things..."

"Can I bring my rooster alarm clock with me?"

"Will it wake me up at dawn?"

Bailey grinned. "If I tell it to..."

Cody paused. "As long as you are there with me, I don't care."

_To be Continued..._

**AN: I know some are asking for more drama, but I just got done with drama in getting them together. I have to have some down time to let them explore their new relationship with each other.**_  
><em>


	31. The Cats Are Out of the Bag

_Chapter 31_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After a quick breakfast, Cody and Bailey were out of their dorm by 8:00 AM to make their way to their first class of the semester. And due to their lack of sleep, both were glad the first day was just syllabus day. Surviving their first two classes, they had lunch on campus and proceeded on to their final class of the day. Once they finished it, they both were more than ready to head back to the dorm. Fortunately, only one of their classes on Tuesday was a repeat of one they had on Monday, so their homework load for that night would be an easy one. After they went ahead and got it out of the way, Bailey headed up to her room to pack up some of her things while Cody went to his room to begin clearing space. And Bailey was in the process of packing some of her things when Monica arrived back to their room.

"What are you doing?"

Bailey looked up. "Packing some of my things to take down to Cody's room. Last night, we both slept horribly without the other, so we're going to make sure that doesn't happen again..."

Monica smiled at her. "Wow...Dating ten days and already shacking up together..."

Bailey let that sink in and her eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! You're right..." She paused and stopped what she was doing.

Monica rolled her eyes. "I was just teasing you. This is obviously what you both want, so who cares?"

"You really think so?"

"Doesn't matter what I think. Is this what you really want?"

Bailey paused, smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it is. I know we've only been officially been dating for ten days, but it feels like it so much longer than that. And I know I've only actually known Cody since August, but this feels so right."

Monica smiled again. "Kind of feels like you've known him your whole life, huh?"

"Something like that..."

"Good for you. Well, I won't miss the stupid chicken clock, but I will miss having you around."

Bailey smiled. "I'll still be in the building. Plus, I bet you'll like having a room to yourself essentially. And I'm sure your boyfriend will really like that..."

Monica laughed. "Assuming I tell him."

"You know, I've only met him a few times, but he does seem like a good guy."

"I know. I like to give him a hard time, but he really is a good one. I mean, he does put up with me." She grinned. "Just wish I had him housebroken like you already have Cody..."

Bailey laughed. "Oh, I did none of that breaking. I'm pretty sure he came out of the womb like that. I got lucky..."

Monica grinned again. "Speaking of getting lucky, you two were holed up in his room all weekend..."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Other than some innocent making out, nothing happened. We talked about it, and we're just going to let our relationship proceed as it will. Neither one of us wants to pressure the other into something they aren't ready for. And...we're both happy with that."

"Your call..."

"You're right. It is our call. When the time is right, we'll know."

Monica paused. "Yeah, you will...but will you be ready?"

Bailey frowned at her. "Isn't that what I just said?"

"Nope. Bailey, knowing you're ready and being ready are two different things. For example, are you on birth control?"

Bailey paused and shook her head. "Well...no..."

"Maybe you should get on it then. Student health will give you a free shot that lasts you three months. Even if you don't need it, it might not be a bad thing to have. Plus, they say it has some good side effects with regulating our cycles. Beyond that, there is the issue of you can't be positive that Cody doesn't have anything. His ex was cheating around on him after all. So, maybe he should get tested just to make sure"

Bailey smiled and laughed. "That is one thing I don't have to worry about..."

"Why wouldn't you? Didn't they date for five years? With the way she was catting around, she could have..." Monica paused. "Wait a minute...Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Bailey paused She shouldn't have said anything, but the cat was out of the bag now. "Don't ever say I said so, but yes...he and I both are..."

Monica smiled. "Good for you both. In some ways, I really envy you in that. You know your first time will be with someone who really cares about you and isn't just in it to get himself off. I really wish I could say the same, but you live and you learn. You have my word though, I won't say a thing. My lips are sealed."

Bailey sighed in relief. "Thank you. About the other idea, you might be right. Just because I go on it, it doesn't mean I have to use it..."

"Exactly."

Bailey finished packing up her things she was going to take down. And that's when she realized she had packed up quite a bit of her things. Sighing, she grabbed her phone and called Cody to see if he would help her carry things downstairs. Five minutes later, he was knocking at her door. Loading up everything, they took everything back down to Cody's room.

"I've already cleared the top two drawers in the dresser for you and pushed my things to the side so that you have half the closet. There are plenty of hangars in there if you want them. I just need to clear out some space in the bathroom and a shelf in the medicine cabinet for you..."

Bailey grabbed his arm. "Cody, wait..."

Cody turned around. "Yeah?"

"Are you sure about this? I mean, we have only been officially dating for ten days. If this is too fast for you..."

Cody cut her off. "Not at all. Is it for you?"

Bailey shook her head. "Not for me either, I just didn't want to push things."

Cody smiled. "You're not. Bails, I want you around me as much as possible. I wasted so much time with Barbara because I was afraid to see what was in front of me. Now, I know exactly what I have in front of me, and I refuse to waste any more time. I don't know how to explain it, but I need you with me. I guess I just feel complete when you are."

Bailey smiled back at him. "I know that feeling too. And I don't want to waste any time either when I know this is right."

"Good. Now, shall I get back to clearing you some space in the bathroom?"

"I won't need that much..."

"Well, I also need to put up a hook for your robe. Fortunately, when I bought the one for mine, it came in a pack of two."

Bailey smiled and teased him. "Why would you need one? I mean, you did answer the door this morning in your boxers..."

Cody just looked at her in surprise. "I did?"

"Yeah, you did."

Cody shook his head. "I didn't even realize I had. I was still half asleep..."

"Its okay. I didn't dawn on me that you had until our last class today. I do like the kittens all over them though. You really are my Cody Kitten..."

Cody laughed. "Well, I guess I have no reason to be modest now as it looks like the cat is out of the bag. But to be fair, it doesn't really bother me. I've lost track of the number of times that one of Zack's schemes has left me standing in my boxers shorts. Once, he locked me out of our suite, and I was in nothing but a towel wrapped around my waist..."

Bailey laughed too. "Oh my. I bet that was a sight to see."

"Thank you...but, just because I don't worry about it, it doesn't mean I expect you to have to put up with it. You can be as modest as you want, and I will be as much as you want me to be. I'll even close my eyes when you tell me to..." He grinned. "...with a minimum of peeking..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Thank you, Sweetie. I know it probably won't be a big deal, but so far, in my life, the only men to see me in my underwear are my Dad and my doctor..."

Cody winked at her. "I knew I chose well in deciding to be a doctor."

"Cody!" Bailey playfully slapped his shoulder. "I thought you wanted to help people..."

"Oh, I do..." He teased her. "Just a perk of the job..."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "I think you have some work to do in the bathroom..."

Cody leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Yes, Dear. Anything you say..."

About thirty minutes later, Cody had cleared space in the bathroom and put up a hook for Bailey's robe. Meanwhile, she had unpacked her things and either put them in a drawer or hung them up in the closet. When Cody came back into the main part of the room, he found Bailey surveying everything. He walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Welcome home, Bails."

She smiled up at him. "Good to be home, Codykins."

He smiled back. "You know...you've used that word enough now that it no longer gives me the creeps. In fact, when you use it, I find it endearing."

"The way I intended it to be. A term of pure affection...you know, without any notions of it being stalkerish."

"You can stalk me at any time. Well, what would you like to do for our first official act as roommates?"

"Well, our homework is already done, and its a little early for dinner. But there is something I need to talk to you about first." She walked over, sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Cody complied and sat down next to her.

"Is this a good thing? Because Dad always told me that when a woman says we need to talk, it never ends well..."

Bailey laughed. "Its not bad. At least I don't think it is. Just something Monica mentioned to me that I thought you should know about. I want their to be complete honesty between us."

Cody nodded. "Bails, I'm an open book to you."

"I know. Besides, I can tell when you are lying. Your mother told me that your nose wrinkles when you do..."

Cody frowned. "It does?"

Bailey smiled. "That's what she told me. But, I've never seen it happen. Tell me a lie and lets see..."

Cody paused. "I'm six feet tall..." His nose wrinkled.

Bailey just grinned. "Yup, she was right..."

Cody sighed. "Fine, I've five foot eleven and three eighths..." No twitch.

"Now, that was the truth. Anyways, like I said, Monica mentioned something to me that I think I'm going to do, but I wanted you to know and get your thoughts."

"Okay. What is it?"

Bailey swallowed. "She suggested I go on the birth control shot. What do you think?"

Cody paused. "Well...I think that's your decision to make. It is your body after all. But, it won't change anything to me. I kind of look it like walking the tight rope. Even if there is a safety net, its not something to go rushing into lightly. I appreciate you telling me, but it makes no difference to me. Just because you are on birth control, it doesn't mean I'm going to pressure you now or suddenly expect it to happen. All I can see is that when we do decide the time is right, it will be one less thing for us to worry about."

Bailey closed her eyes and leaned her head on Cody's shoulder. "Thank you. I couldn't have said it better myself."

Cody wrapped his arm around her again. "No problem." He kissed the top of her head. "Just remember how much I love you."

She looked up at him. "You do the same. Cody, I'm really looking forward to this. I know some people might say were crazy, but I don't care. I know in my heart this is right."

"Me too. And I don't care if someone says I'm crazy, because they'd be right. Like I told you before, I'm crazy about you."

"I'm crazy about you too..."

"Now, I say we just sit back and relax before dinner. Maybe after dinner, we can just take it easy and watch a movie or something." He yawned. "Of course, I am seeing me going to be early tonight. Unlike someone else in this room, I need all the beauty sleep I can get..."

Bailey grinned. "Sounds perfect to me...Just let me go ahead and set my chicken clock before I forget. Turns out, Monica will not be missing it at all..."

Cody laughed. "I survived the real thing...Piece of cake."

_To be Continued..._

**AN: Once I finish this story (however and whenever I do that), I got an idea yesterday for my next AU story. The Parent Trap was on, and it dawned on me how easily that story could be adapted using the SL characters. So, I may take a shot at doing that. And during a commercial break, Dylan and Cole got a shout out as one of the most famous pair of either fictional or real life twins. Of course, the award for top pair of real life twins went to a couple of ladies named Mary Kate and Ashley. As for fictional ones, Zack and Cody were denied in favor of a pair of twins named Luke and Leia. Oh well.**_  
><em>


	32. Waltzing Through the First Week

_Chapter 32_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The rest of that week, Cody and Bailey quickly got into a rhythm of them living together and going to classes. One of the first things to work out was their morning routines. Simply, they decided they would alternate who got the shower first. They weren't really worried about hot water running out as they were both going to be up by 6:00 AM, and not many college students are up that early. After that, everything fell into place. Both focused on their studies seriously like before, so they didn't have to worry about the other potentially trying to distract them. Well, there was some distractions, but both behaved themselves until after their work was done. And since Friday was their early day (they were done by eleven in the morning), Bailey had made an appointment with student health for just before noon. And since they were already on campus, Cody volunteered to go with her.

Once Bailey was back with the doctor, Cody was holding their backpacks and just walking around the waiting room looking around. He figured he was just a freshman, but it wouldn't hurt to get a look around the campus medical facilities. One thing caught his attention though. It was a large board where student organizations put up announcements or people put up notices of items they had for sale. He was looking at everything when he heard a voice.

"Thinking about buy yourself a drum set?"

Cody turned and saw Bailey standing there smiling at him. "Nah. I don't think my roommate would like that too much." He grinned. "That was fast."

Bailey shrugged. "I just had to answer some questions, give some blood and get the shot."

"Do you feel any different?"

"Can't say I do..." She paused. "Well, I'm a little sore where they gave me the injection."

Cody grinned again. "Want me to kiss your boo boo and make it better?"

Bailey grinned back. "I didn't tell you where they gave me the shot yet..."

Cody paused and gave her a look. "My offer still stands..."

Bailey laughed. "Come on, its lunch time, and I'm hungry."

Cody held her up. "Actually, I did see something interesting on here..." He pointed to a flier in particular. "What do you think?"

Bailey looked up and read it. "Ballroom dancing classes? Are you serious?"

Cody shrugged. "Yeah. I thought it might be fun. Plus, it would help make sure I don't step on your toes again the next time we dance. I could use all the professional help I could get..."

"You never stepped on them once..." She smiled. "But I love this idea. I've always wanted to learn how to do that. We didn't get a chance to do those back in Kettlecorn. Mostly, it was square dances and line dances..."

"And look, its a four week course before Valentine's Day. One week each for the Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot and Viennese Waltz. Maybe we could learn enough to be dangerous by the time we get to New York City?"

Bailey reached up and ripped off one of the tags. "Get your dance shoes polished then, Mr. Martin."

Cody smiled. "Good. Now, as you were saying, lunch does sound good."

Cody and Bailey headed back to their dorm, and after dropping off their backpacks, they did finally grab some lunch. Once that was done, they began to discuss what they wanted to do the rest of the day and that weekend. With snow still on the ground but melting, they decided to let the weather continue to improve, and then head out into New Haven on Saturday to see what there was to do. Bailey told Cody to head on back to the room as she had to stop by her other room to find something she had forgotten. And while Bailey was going through her trunk, Monica and her boyfriend came in.

"I thought I got rid of you..."

Bailey looked up and smiled. "I'm just here to find something, and then I'll be gone again."

Monica shrugged. "Take your time. How are things going with you two down in the dungeon?"

"Great. Its been even better than I could have imagined. We've quickly got our rhythm down pat without driving the other crazy..."

Monica smiled. "Glad to hear that. So, what are you two crazy kids getting into this weekend?"

"Nothing much today, but we found a flyer offering ballroom dancing lessons beginning Sunday, and were going to do those..."

Monica just shook her head. "How in the world did you talk Cody into doing that?"

Bailey smiled. "It was his idea."

Monica just looked at her boyfriend. "How come you don't come up with ideas like that?"

He just shrugged. "I didn't know you wanted to do something like that...But, if you do..."

Monica grinned. "Bailey, can I write down that number. George here needs to make a phone call..."

Bailey laughed. "Sure..." She turned to George. "Sorry..."

He sighed. "No big deal...I'm used to it..."

Bailey closed her trunk. "Well, I'll get out of her and leave you two to discuss this further by yourselves."

Bailey quickly made her exit, and back down to the basement. And when she came in laughing, Cody just gave her a quizzical look.

"Everything okay?"

Bailey smiled. "Yeah, but I don't think Monica's boyfriend is very happy with either of us right now. I think we're going to know another couple in ballroom dancing class..."

Cody laughed. "Oh well. I'm used to Zack getting mad at me for doing something he thought made him look bad. This one time, I was helping incubate a hawk egg to help it hatch once its mother flew off. For some reason, girls liked that and wanted to help me with it. I guess they thought it made me look sensitive. Zack hated that. So, I can deal with it. Besides, we'll both get to hold our girlfriends in our arms. I don't see any downside to that."

Bailey grinned. "Good answer. So, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I was just about to send an e-mail to my Mom to let her know about starting classes again this week."

Bailey nodded. "I should probably do the same." She paused. "Are you going to tell her about our new living arrangements?"

"Actually, I was going to ask you about that. You think we should tell our parents?"

Bailey chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't know. On one hand, I would never deny it, but on the other, I don't know if its any of their business..."

Cody nodded. "I know what you mean. We'll both be 19 is a few months, so its not like were 16. And its not like they can say that they are paying for our educations and afraid it would be a distraction. I mean, except for sleeping next to each other, we basically did the same thing last semester anyways and got 4.0s."

"Well, I don't remember us having periodic make out sessions last semester..." She smiled. "But we do actually encourage the other to study." She paused. "Plus, your Mom seems to actually like me, and I don't want to tarnish the image she has..."

Cody smiled. "She does more than just like you. She actually told me that you were special. And she overheard our phone call, and she helped me pack. Her exact words were 'go get your girl...'"

Bailey smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah." Cody laughed. "Plus, it doesn't hurt that unless you shoot me, you're going to look better in her eyes than Barbara. Bails, your the most amazing person I've ever met. But, its not like you have big shoes to fill..."

Bailey laughed too. "Same here. After what Moose did and you coming to my rescue several times, you're golden in my parent's eyes. My Dad actually said you were a fine young man. And I'm pretty sure he gave you the rose to give me on New Year's."

"He did, but he also told me if I ever hurt you, he'd bury me in the storm shelter..."

Bailey cringed. "Oh..."

Cody took her hand puller her into his lap. "Bails, I would never intentionally do anything that could hurt you. I love you too much to do that."

"I know..."

"Maybe you're right though. These are our lives to lead. I think we're old enough and mature enough to decide how we want to do that."

Bailey smiled. "You're right..." She paused. "But won't your Dad figure out something when we share a hotel room in New York?"

"Nope. I'll just tell him I slept in a chair or on the floor." He grinned. "Wouldn't be the first time..."

Bailey just shook her head.

"Oh, by the way, Dad did send me an e-mail with our room confirmation and the details about our hotel..."

"Yeah?"

Cody turned his laptop towards Bailey and showed her the hotel's website. "Here's what it looks like right here."

Bailey nodded. "It does look very nice..."

Cody grinned. "And look at this...After a night of dancing the night away, we can relax in the room's whirlpool afterwards..."

Bailey paused. "That would be nice, but there is a slight problem with that..."

"What?"

"I never packed a bathing suit with me when I left Kettlecorn."

"That's no problem. We'll just go out and buy you one. Easy as that."

Bailey just looked at him. "We? For some reason, I'm getting the idea you want to help me pick one out. Anxious to see me in it?"

Cody smiled. "Bails, I said I'd never lie to you. I admit, the thought of you in one is very appealing to me. But, you're going to need one anyways. What were you planning on wearing to the beach when the weather gets warmer?"

"The beach?"

"Well, we are right on the coast here. And I was hoping we'd go there sometime. You know, maybe a picnic on the beach and playing in the surf..."

Bailey smiled. "That does sound nice. It will be kind of weird though. My old bathing suit was kind of...old fashioned."

Cody smiled back at her. "Well, you'll find a new one you like and are comfortable with. I'm sure I'm going to like the view no matter what."

Bailey teased him. "You sure about that? You never know what I might pick out..."

"Why wouldn't I be? You're gorgeous and always will be.."

Bailey leaned in to give him a peck on the lips. "Thank you."

"I only speak the truth..."

Bailey paused. "All of this does bring something else to mind. We actually get two weeks of spring break. Do you already have something planned?"

Cody shook his head. "Not really. My original plan had been to go back to Boston and spend it there, but that was before New Year's Eve. Now, I want to spend it with you. You have any plans?"

"None, but I want to spend it with you too..."

Cody paused. "Though, that might be when I have to appear on Yay Me! again."

Bailey nodded and smiled. "Well, I'm going to be there with you when you do. You have to do it because of me, so I'll be there to stand by my man."

Cody smiled. "Thanks, Sweetie...Maybe I should call London to make sure when she wants to do it? If its not then, maybe we can figure out something else to do?"

"Good idea."

Cody grabbed his cell phone and dialed. "London, its me...Cody...Cody Martin...You're former producer...Yes, one of the blonde twins...Yes, the smart one. Glad you remember me now. I was just checking in with you to see when you wanted me to appear on Yay Me! again." "Well, we have two weeks of spring break. Its from..." Cody checked his calendar. "Monday, March 5 through Friday, March 16."

Cody listened as London continued talking and checking her schedule.

"Oh, I understand. Well, you won't be in Boston then. We'll just have to do it some other time then."

Cody paused as London said something else.

"Are you serious? That sounds great! But, I will be bringing Bailey with me...my girlfriend...the girl who was there with me over Thanksgiving..." Cody sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, her..." London continued talking. "Sounds good. If we are due to leave Sunday morning, we'll be back in Boston sometime that Saturday. See you then, London." Cody closed his phone and smiled at Bailey.

Bailey just gave him a look. "What? And where are we leaving to on Sunday?"

"Bails, we now have plans for spring break. London said she wasn't going to be in Boston while we're on break, but she actually invited us to join her and we would do the show there..."

"Join her where?"

Cody smiled. "Oh her father's cruise ship. The S.S. Tipton..."

_To be Continued..._


	33. Big Apple Bound

_Chapter 33_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The next several weeks flew by. On Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursday nights, Cody and Bailey made sure they finished their homework and studying before they attended their dance classes. They picked up all four dances fairly decently. While they would never be professionals, they did have a lot of fun by just accepting it as another activity for them to spend time together. Even George had to admit that it was a lot more fun that he had been expecting.

The first week of February brought with it the first round of exams. And living together hadn't changed their routine at all. In fact, it actually improved on it. If they wanted to study late into the night, they could just get themselves comfortable and work up until it was time to go to bed. And like the first semester, they came, they saw and they conquered. Once exams were over, they had time to relax again.

And Cody and Bailey did go out and buy her a bathing suit one Saturday afternoon. Of course, Bailey kept it a secret which one she decided to go with and told Cody it would be a surprise for Valentine's Day weekend. Cody didn't mind one bit. But the thought of it being their first Valentine's weekend was weighing heavily on Cody's mind. He wanted to make it as special as he could, but he wasn't sure he would be able to do that as a poor college student. And when he spoke to his Dad the weekend before they were due to head to New York, Kurt picked up on that.

"What's wrong, Cody?"

Cody sighed. "Its nothing, Dad."

"I know better than that. Is everything okay with Bailey?"

Cody smiled. "Yeah, its amazing..." He paused. "But that's the problem. I want to make Valentine's Day something she'll never forget, but I don't have the funds to make that happen..."

Kurt smiled. "I see your problem. Let me see what I might be able to do on my end. I can't have one of my boys look like they are slacking in the romance department. Any ideas of what she would like?"

"Well, there is one thing she did mention..." Cody told him about Bailey loving the movie Sleepless in Seattle and the Empire State Building lit up in hearts. Kurt said he would see what he could do. Cody paused. "I'd still like to get her something nice though..."

Kurt paused. "Well, I don't know if this will help any, but I remember your Mom always really liked things I made for her. You know...like write a song for her or something like that..."

Cody thought about that and grinned. "That's a great idea, Dad. I think I have just thing thing!" And once he had hung up his call with his Dad, Cody turned back to his laptop and began looking up things he would need to pull off his idea. And with only a week to get it done, he was going to have to hurry. He paused...how in the world was he going to be able to get this done with Bailey around him 24/7? He was still thinking about that when Bailey came back into the room. Seeing Cody deep in thought, she smiled at him.

"Something on your mind?"

Cody snapped back to reality and looked up. "Oh...I was just thinking."

"About what?"

Cody smiled. "Your gift for Valentine's Day..."

Bailey walked over to him and sat down on his lap. "I don't need you to get me anything." She smiled. "Besides, the dance lessons were you're idea. I've had a blast with those. Plus, I'll get to spend the day with you. That's all that matters to me."

"I know, but its our first Valentine's Day together. I want to make it memorable for you."

"It already will be. It will be the first Valentine's Day that I'll get to spend with the guy I love."

Cody smiled again. "Same here, but I have an idea of what I'm going to do. So, if it looks like I'm being sneaky or hiding something, that's what I'm doing..."

Bailey grinned. "So, no peeking, huh?"

"Not unless you want to ruin the surprise."

She tapped her chin. "I guess I don't..."

"Good. But I do need to run out and pick up a few things for it. Need me to pick up anything for you while I'm out?"

Bailey paused. She had an idea for a gift for Cody too that she needed to get started on as well. "Actually, there are a few things I need. Mind if I come with you?"

Cody smiled. "Of course not...Just don't try to follow me around to see what I'm doing..."

"I won't...as long as you promise not to do follow me around either..."

After a shopping trip, they returned back to the dorm to get to started. Quickly, they agreed to give each other an hour each day to work on their projects. And they chose an hour when Monica would be in class so Bailey wouldn't interrupt her alone time with her boyfriend. By the Friday afternoon they were to leave for New York City, both had finished. Of course, both felt they could have done much better jobs if they'd had more time and mentally kicked themselves for not thinking of their ideas sooner.

Friday was their early day again, so once they finished classes, they grabbed a quick lunch before packing their bags. They decided to go ahead and do as much of their homework for Monday as they could before they headed out. Once they reached a stopping point and had driving directions to the hotel in New York City printed out, they were off. Cody was concerned and hoped they would get there before rush hour traffic got too bad, but alas, they didn't. If Bailey thought Boston traffic was crazy, New York's was a nightmare. Once they were within a mile of their hotel, it still took them almost a half hour to get into the parking garage and parked.

After he put the car in park and turned off the engine, Cody turned to Bailey. "How about we use public transportation the rest of the time we're here?"

Bailey quickly nodded. "Agreed."

After grabbing their bags, they headed up to the main lobby. Waiting their turn, they finally were the next to be waited on.

"Name?"

"I believe my father made the reservations. His name is Kurt Martin."

The clerk nodded and began typing away on her keyboard. "Ahhh...Here we are. There are two rooms reserved. One for a Cody Martin, and one for a Zack Martin. Neither has checked in yet."

Cody showed her his license. "I'm Cody Martin."

"Very well. As you are first to check in, you get first choice. One of the rooms has two double beds and the other has a single king size bed. Which one do you want?"

Cody turned to Bailey. "Your call."

Bailey smiled. "We only need one, so we'll take the king size."

The clerk nodded. "Very well. Here are your keys. You're room is on the 37th floor."

Ten minutes later, Cody and Bailey were outside of their room. Cody opened the door, but stopped Bailey from walking in.

"What?"

Cody grinned. "I want to do something. Hold on a second." He quickly took their bags inside the room before returning. And in one quick motion, Cody had lifted Bailey up into his arms.

Bailey was laughing. "Cody!"

He just kept grinning. "Always wanted to do this too..." As Bailey just shook her head and kept laughing, Cody carried her into the room. Once inside, he sat her down on the bed. "Happy Valentine's Weekend, Bails."

"Happy Valentine's Weekend to you, Codykins."

Cody just shook his head and paused. "You think we'll know what to do with this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, our bed back in the dorm is like a third of the size of this...Will we know what to do with so much room?"

Bailey smiled. "I think we'll manage."

Cody was about to say something when his phone rang. He answered it and grinned.

"Hey, Dad." "Yeah, we just got here a little while ago." Cody checked his watch. "Sure, see you at 7:30."

He hung up the phone and turned back to Bailey. "We're all having dinner with my Dad in the hotel restaurant at 7:30."

Bailey nodded and checked her own watch. "That's in about two hours. Enough time for us to get cleaned up. What's the dress code for the restaurant."

"I think I saw a sign that said jackets and ties are required."

Bailey teased him. "Did you bring extras for me?"

Cody laughed. "I don't think so. Besides, that would be one more thing you would look better in than I do. Why don't you go head and get cleaned up though. Ladies first."

Bailey smiled, kissed his cheek and headed for the bathroom with her bag. Cody kicked off his shoes and climbed up on the bed to relax. He closed his eyes, and he must have drifted off to sleep. Next thing he knew, his shoulder was being shaken. He opened his eyes to see Bailey standing there with a large towel wrapped around her.

Cody sighed and grinned. "Best dream ever..." Then he whistled at her.

Bailey just shook her head and smiled. "Well, wake up from it and go grab a shower or we'll be late..."

Reluctantly, Cody got up, grabbed his bag and headed into the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, he returned out into the room in his undershirt and boxers. And he was happy to see Bailey was still wrapped in her towel as she was putting on her make up.

"I was about to iron my clothes. Want me to iron anything for you?"

Bailey smiled. "My dress should be okay, but would you mind giving it a touch up just in case?"

"Not at all..."

At 7:15, Cody returned from tying his tie and adding cologne in the bathroom. And when he returned out into the room, he saw Bailey standing there in a black dress with matching heels. He stopped dead in his tracks with his mouth hanging open. But Bailey was looking in the mirror putting on her earrings.

"Cody, would you mind zipping me up?"

Cody could only nod. He walked over and slowly zipped up her dress. Bailey turned and smiled at him.

"Mmmm...You look very handsome tonight."

Cody just shook his head. "Wow...You look...wow..."

Bailey smiled again. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should. You are absolutely stunning, my dear." He paused. "Though, I'll still trying to figure out which outfit you looked lovelier in..."

Bailey just gave him a look. "I had on a sweatshirt and jeans earlier..."

"That's not the outfit I was talking about...I was talking about your towel..."

Bailey just shook her head. "Cody, you've seen me in my robe dozens of times by now..."

"And I enjoy the view every single time. Its just when I saw you in your towel...Well, lets just say the shower I took was a cold one."

Bailey smiled. "Really?"

Cody nodded. "Definitely...And I will never apologize for thinking you are the most beautiful, sexiest woman these two eyes will ever see..."

Bailey leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. But, we need to get moving. I don't want to be late the first time I meet your Dad..."

"Alright...But I think he'd understand." Cody picked up his jacket and put it on.

Bailey slipped her arm into his. "Well, we'll have plenty of time later with it just being you and I. You've already made a good impression with my parents, and your Mom seems to like me. I just want to make it four for four. Let's go."

They made their way down to the lobby and to the restaurant. Once the reached the maitre'd podium, Cody told him they were with the Martin party. The maitre'd nodded and lead them to a table where Kurt was already sitting perusing the menu.

"Hey Dad."

Kurt looked up and grinned. "Cody!" He got up to hug his son.

"Dad, this is Bailey Pickett. Bails, this is my Dad, Kurt Martin."

Bailey smiled. "Its nice to meet you, Mr. Martin."

Kurt smiled back. "Likewise, and call me Kurt. I finally finished up reading Cody's emails last night. He has nothing but the best things to say about you. In fact, I almost get the impression he thinks you hung the moon."

Bailey blushed. "Well, your son is pretty wonderful in his own right. You've raised a kind, considerate and chivalrous gentleman."

Kurt laughed. "Must have gotten that from his mother. Anyways, Bailey, I look forward to getting to know you better this weekend. Cody says you make him happy, and that's what is important to me. You keep doing that, and you're golden in my book."

"Thank you...I will do my best."

About that time, Zack and Maya finally showed up at the table too. "We're here!"

Kurt grinned. "Good. We're all finally here. Let's get this weekend of a fun and romance started!"

_To be Continued..._


	34. A Family Dinner

_Chapter 34_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

For the next hour, they all dined and chatted with each other. Kurt Martin got his first chance to meet both of his son's girlfriends. And from the first impressions he was getting, he realized they couldn't be more different from each other. But he quickly realized that was a good thing. Maya's no nonsense and outgoing personality was a perfect match for Zack. She would keep him in line but not suppress his jubilant personality. Maya and Zack had very flirty demeanor to them where it was evident there was a mutual attraction. On the other hand, Bailey was more the sweet and compassionate type. And the was a perfect match for his Cody. Plus, they would both talk about things that went completely over the heads of the other three at the table. And Kurt could tell by the way Cody and Bailey were with each other that it was a pairing based on mutual friendship, respect and adoration for the other.

Kurt was really enjoying getting to meet the two ladies in his sons' lives, but with a schedule to keep, he checked his watch. It was almost a quarter to nine, and he had to be at the sound check for his concert in fifteen minutes.

"Boys, Ladies, I wish I could stay longer, but I have to get ready for the show tonight. You four take your time and enjoy dessert too if you want. Everything is being charged to my room. Now, the show begins at 10:30, and there is a table reserved for you all." He looked at his oldest. "Of course, you will be given wristbands that show you are under 21, so don't try anything funny. I hope you all enjoy the show. And ladies, its been a pleasure to meet you both." He stood up. "I'll see you all in a little while."

Kurt headed out, and Maya, Zack, Cody and Bailey were still sitting at the table. And like Kurt suggested, they did all order dessert.

Cody turned to his brother. "So, Zack...how are you enjoying college?"

Zack paused. "You know, I actually like it better than high school. I mean...only fifteen hours a week that I have to be in class? I would have enjoyed high school much more if it was like that..."

Cody laughed. "I seem to remember you still managed to have fun..."

Zack smirked. "Well, I don't have the luxury of having you around to do my homework for me anymore..." He paused. "And Maya actually makes me study..."

Cody was almost floored by hearing that and turned to Maya. "And how did you pull that off?"

Maya laughed. "I have my ways..." She turned to Bailey. "And how are things this semester with you two being more than friends?"

Bailey smiled. "Better than I could have ever imagined...These past four weeks, in addition to studying, Cody and I have been taking ballroom dancing classes."

Zack began laughing. "And you can still walk? Broseph here isn't a very good dancer. In fact, there was this one time he was in a dance contest, and he fell off the stage and hurt himself..."

Cody sighed. "True...but, I was doing it to cover for you because you were goofing off and hurt your ankle..."

Zack nodded and smiled. "I remember...Mom and Max took turns ripping us both new ones..."

Maya turned to Zack. "Who's Max?"

"Oh, Max is an old friend of ours from middle school in Boston." He paused and turned to Cody. "Whatever happened to her anyways? It was like she just disappeared..."

Cody shrugged. "I have no idea...Tapeworm was the same way."

"Yeah, and Bob isn't around much anymore either..." Zack cringed. "Oh...sorry."

Cody smiled. "No problem. Actually, I need to thank Bob." He took Bailey's hand in his. "I definitely got the best end of that deal..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Me too..." She turned to Zack. "And Cody may not be ready for Dancing with the Stars, but I love dancing with him. I love being held in his arms.

Zack just shook his head. "Too much information..."

Cody laughed. "So, how is it going with your new roommate, Woody?"

"Its been pretty good actually. He actually doesn't care if the room is messy." He smirked. "And he doesn't care if my bed isn't made first thing in the morning..."

Bailey had to laugh. "Yeah, I've noticed its one of the first things Cody does every morning like clockwork..."

Maya and Zack just give her a look. "And how would you know that exactly?"

Bailey's eyes went wide. "Oh...ummm..."

Cody spoke up to cover for her. "Because Bailey uses my shower every morning. I keep it clean, and she doesn't have to worry about using the filthy communal ones on her floor."

Zack just gave his brother a look. "I don't believe you. Look me in the eye and tell me that's all there is..."

Cody sighed, but he avoided Zack's stare. "That's all there is..." His nose twitched.

Zack laughed. "I knew it! Codester! You old dog you!"

Maya was confused. "What are you talking about? He just said that's all there was..."

Zack kept grinning. "Nope. His nose twitched. He was lying!"

Bailey sighed. "Fine...I've essentially moved in with Cody. I stay with him every night...that's how I know..."

Zack laughed. "Way to go, baby brother...Shacking up with your girlfriend! Mom's going to flip!"

Cody rolled his eyes. "One, your only ten minutes older than I am. Two, its no one's business but ours what Bailey and I do. I love her, she loves me. Us living together feels right to us. We don't care what other people think." He wrapped his arm around her. "I won't try to justify to anyone what my heart tells me to do..."

Bailey smiled at him. "I feel the exact same way. Our relationship is ours and no one else's. What's right for us is what we decide it is, and we like...no love what we have going on..."

Maya just looked at them. "Good for you two. You're right. It is up to you two..." She glared at Zack. "Neither one of us will say a word, right Zack?"

Zack sighed. "Fine..."

Cody smiled at Maya. "Thank you...Someday you're going to have to teach me how you've trained him so well. For 18 years, nothing I tried ever worked..."

Maya laughed. "No offense, Cody, but I have a few tricks in my bag that you would never use..."

Bailey teasingly elbowed Cody. "Maybe you could tell me to help keep this one in line..."

Maya just shook her head and smiled. "I don't think that would work either. From what I can tell, they may be twins, but they are polar opposites. Besides, from what I can see, you already have Cody wrapped around your little finger..."

They finished their deserts before they realized it was getting close to show time. So, they left the restaurant and walked down the street to the club where Kurt was performing. And like he said, they were all given wristbands indicating they were underage. After finding their tables, the guys went to get nonalcoholic drinks for everyone. And while they waited at the bar, Zack just grinned at his brother.

"Five years with Barbara and nothing. Barely a month with Bailey, and sleeping together every night. Glad to see you taking the bull by the horns for a change..."

Cody sighed. "Sleeping together is all we do. Neither of us is pressuring the other for anything more. Zack, I really do love her, and I would never do anything to risk ruining what I have."

Zack smirked at him. "Are you going to wait until your wedding night?"

"If that's what it takes, yes..."

Zack's eyes went wide. "Whoa, whoa, whoa...You've thought of proposing already?"

"Not anytime soon, but I just have the feeling that I will one day. I mean it, Zack. I'm really in love with her. I'm feeling things I've never felt before in my life. Everyday I spend with her, I fall harder and harder for her. She makes me feel like its okay to be me. But its more than that. She embraces who I am and loves me for it. I know we've only been dating officially for a little over a month, but I feel like I've known her forever. So, no...I'm not planning on proposing any time soon. But, one day...yeah, I truly believe I will..."

Zack was speechless for a minute. "Wow...I knew you had strong feelings for her, but I had no idea they were that deep..."

Cody smiled. "Well, now you do."

"How can you be so sure though?"

Cody paused. "Its hard to explain. Its a feeling you either have or you don't. And I have it. Basically, whenever I think about my future, I see her right there next to me."

Back at the table, the two ladies were just chatting themselves.

Maya smiled. "So, for the past month, you're really telling me that Cody hasn't tried anything? Even with you two all wrapped up and snuggled together every night?"

Bailey smiled back. "Exactly. I know he's normal and has urges, but he's constantly the perfect gentleman. I mean, take earlier this afternoon before dinner for example. He had fallen asleep while I showered, and I came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. When I woke him up, I thought his eyes were going to bulge out of his head..."

"So, you were teasing him?"

Bailey shook her head. "Not intentionally. Did it feel good to know I have that kind of reaction on him? Of course it did. I love knowing he thinks I'm beautiful. I've never felt anything like it. But I really love that he loves me for more than that and sees me for everything I am. You see, my ex was a controlling jerk who had no respect for me at all and saw me as a possession. I had to knee him in the groin once to get him to stop trying to paw at me. Cody is the exact opposite. He loves me, respects me and treats me as an equal partner..."

Maya grinned. "One you like you knowing you have an effect on..."

Bailey smiled. "I'm not the only one. He was walking around in his undershirt and boxers. I didn't make it too obvious, but I was looking as much as I could. He drives me wild too and has an effect on me. I've even gone on the birth control shot. I don't want to rush anything either, but I know it will happen at some point. The first time I kissed him, I know it was all for show, but wow! It was like I had stuck a penny in an outlet. I felt this surge of electricity go through me. And I feel it every single time he touches me. And his kisses...I go weak in the knees."

Maya laughed. "Sounds like a woman in love."

"I am...And that's why I'm so cautious. With my ex, I know he viewed it as a way...for lack of a better word, to brand me as his personal property. He wanted to do anything he could to keep me in Kettlecorn. I didn't want that as I had dreams and higher aspirations. And I wasn't going to let anything get in my way. So, sex was not something I thought about all that much...until now. I know with Cody, it would be different. I know I can have the love and intimacy and it wouldn't interfere with my dreams because he shares them too. I've stopped putting a mental block on the idea of it..." She sighed. "I'm just scared of doing something to ruin this. I see a long future with Cody, and I don't want to risk that because of I gave in to one moment of weakness and passion..."

"Who says it would? But, you're right. This is something between you and Cody. If I may though...as an impartial outsider...its obvious you two are nutso about each other. You love each other. As long as its something you both want, I don't see how you would ruin anything." She grinned. "Remember, I was there when we walked in on you two. I saw two people so wrapped up in each other that they were oblivious to the rest of the world. Don't try to over analyze everything. Just go with what you both want and what feels right to you both. Looks like its working for you so far. Besides, I've seen the way Cody looks at you. Its like he's looking at the most precious thing in the world to him. Talk to him. I bet he's feeling the same things you are..."

Bailey smiled. "Thanks...Enough about Cody and I. How are things going with Zack?"

Maya smiled. "Going good. You know, I think being out of the hotel and away from Cody has been good for him. He knows he has to take care of himself now. Plus, I think working last semester really gave him a wake up call. He's still fun loving, but he knows he has to be serious when its needed."

"Good. I can definitely tell you are a good influence on him."

"Don't get me wrong though...I wish some of Cody's cleanliness would rub off on to him. His and Woody's room is a pigsty. Addison and I are thinking about putting our foots down and refusing to go to their room unless its decent."

Bailey laughed. "I can't imagine. Fortunately, I prefer things clean and in order too, so I don't mind Cody's germaphobia and obsession with cleaning."

"I bet...I just wish I had a private bathroom like you two do..."

Bailey grinned. "Its heaven on earth."

The girls continued talking to each other when they soon noticed they were no longer alone. Both turned and saw two strange guys sitting in Cody and Zack's seats. And they both grinned at Bailey and Maya.

"Hello, ladies. Are these seat's taken?"

Maya smirked at them. "Actually, they are. Our BOYFRIENDS are at the bar getting us something to drink..."

"Then you wouldn't mind us keeping you company until they return, would you?" The other guy grinned. "Besides, its their fault for leaving two such lovely ladies all by themselves."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Actually, we do mind. Now, please go and leave us be..."

"Come on, Ladies...I'm sure we can show you a much better time than whoever your guys are..."

Maya balled her fists in aggravation. "No thanks...We're actually allergic to jerks. So, leave before we get sick..."

The guy sitting next to her scowled. "Well, well...Looks like we have a pair of stuck up bitches. I think we should show you what we do to your kind around here..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: I apologize as this is the only chapter I'm posting tonight. I had another chapter written for another story, but I can't figure out where I saved it. I'll try to find it or re-write it for tomorrow.**__  
><em>_


	35. A Night on the Town

_Chapter 35_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

With the situation suddenly turning hostile, Bailey began to get worried. She and Maye were alone in a club in New York City, and Cody and Zack were nowhere in sight. Fearing there was going to be trouble, she clasped her purse in her hands tightly when she remembered something. As nonchalantly as possible, she opened it up and found the small can of bear repellant Cody had given her. Clutching that in her hand, she felt a little bit better about her safety. But she was surprised when she heard Maya begin to laugh.

"What you do to our kind around here? A little info you two idiots...I'm from New York myself. And guys like you around here end up being some bigger guy's girlfriend at Riker's. Now, if you two leave right now, we'll forget about you two bothering us. If not...well, I can't guarantee you'll like what happens."

At that moment, Cody and Zack showed back up at the table and set the drinks down. Zack looked around.

"What's going on here?"

Maya smiled up at him. "Nothing, Babe. This two imbeciles wanted to keep us company, but we told them no. We're just waiting for them to leave so we can get back to enjoying our night out."

One of the guys began laughing. "These two are your boyfriends? Wow...You two can do so much better..."

Cody glared at the guy. "While that may be true, I think its been established that no one here really cares what you think. So, why don't you two go find someone who does."

The guy stood up and got in Cody's face. "And if we don't?"

Bailey looked on in horror, but she noticed something. Cody's hands weren't balled up in fists. Rather, he had his index fingers ready to drop the guy like he had Moose. With confidence, she spoke up. "Look, whoever you are, this is your last chance to leave. If not, I guarantee you'll find yourself lying on the floor and everyone will be laughing at you..."

The guy's buddy walked over too and grinned. "How about a bet then? I think it will be your boys here on the floor. Let's make a deal. If we drop them, you two ladies are our dates tonight..."

Maya was about to object when Bailey just gave him a smirk. "Fine..." She whipped out the can of bear repellant and sprayed one of the guys in the eyes. And when he began rubbing his eyes and dropping to his knees, the other guy turned to figure out what happened. And that's when Cody struck. Within less than thirty seconds, both guys were on the floor – one passed out and the other crying that his eyes were burning. And as everyone around them began pointing and laughing, one of the club's bouncers came running over.

"What the hell just happened here?"

Bailey stood up. "Those two were harassing us, and they really didn't like it when our boyfriends showed up. We asked them to leave, so they got physical. We just defended ourselves..."

The bouncer just looked at her and then noticed Cody and Zack standing there. "Is that true?"

Cody nodded. "Yes, sir. Our Dad is the lead singer in the band tonight, and we were here to enjoy the show with our girlfriends. We didn't want any trouble."

Shrugging, the bouncer picked up the two guys from the floor and began dragging them away. Everyone else sat back down in their chairs, and Cody turned to Bailey. "Are you alright, Bails?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled. "You were wrong about me being able to do better though..."

Cody smiled back at her. "Well, I see you still carry that little can on you..."

"Of course I do. You gave it to me for situations just like this."

Maya spoke up. "He bought you mace? Probably a good idea"

Bailey turned to her and showed her the can. "No...actually, its bear repellant. It really works."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Bear repellant? Why am I not surprised? For some reason, Cody always carried that on him just in case..." He paused. "And was that move you pulled on that guy that same stupid one you used to use on me?"

Cody laughed. "Hey...it worked then and it worked now..."

Bailey laughed too. "Remind me...I really need you to teach me how to do that. I would have felt a lot better if I had had that in my arsenal..."

"Consider it done..."

Zack paused. "It would have really been nice if we knew that yoga trick London used to use on us all the time..."

Cody paused and then remembered. "Oh yeah...The one where we could be arguing and the next thing we knew, nothing mattered anymore..."

"I think she used it on Mom and Moseby once too..."

Cody grinned. "Speaking of which, Mom said in the month you've been gone, he's beginning to grow hair again..."

Maya shook her head. "That poor man. Zack told me about all the things you two plotted to do to him..."

Cody laughed and looked at Zack. "That WE plotted? I must have missed getting a say in all of those things when you were dragging me into them..."

Bailey patted his arm. "It doesn't matter. Besides, it looks like the show is about to begin..."

Cody smiled at her. "You're right...as usual. I hope you enjoy the show. Dad plays mostly rock, but he does play a little of everything."

"I can't wait to hear him."

The show did begin shortly, and Kurt and his band were hitting it out of the park from the get go. And as he played, Cody wrapped his arm around Bailey's shoulder and they sat back and enjoyed the show. After the first break, Kurt took to the microphone.

"I like to welcome every one to our show again. I hope everyone is having a happy and romantic Valentine's Day weekend. Personally, I have four special guests here – my sons and their girlfriends. Bailey and Maya, my sons have asked me to sing you a special request for them. They say it describes how they felt when they met you both. So, this next song goes out to you two..."

Kurt's band began playing their instruments before he began singing.

"I thought love was only true in fairy tales  
>Meant for someone else but not for me.<br>Love was out to get me (dum dum dum dum dum)  
>That's the way it seems (dum dum dum dum dum)<br>Disappointment haunted all my dreams.

And then I saw her face  
>Now I'm a believer.<br>Not a trace  
>Of doubt in my mind.<br>I'm in love  
>(oooooo)<br>I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her  
>if I tried<p>

I thought love was more or less a given thing  
>It seems the more I gave the less I got, Oh Yeah<br>What's the use in trying  
>All you get is pain<br>When I needed sunshine I got rain

And then I saw her face,  
>Now i'm a believer.<br>Not a trace  
>Of doubt in my mind.<br>I'm in love  
>(oooooo)<br>I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her  
>if I tried<p>

love was out to get (dum dum dum dum dum)  
>that`s the way it seems (dum dum dum dum dum)<br>disappointment haunted all my dreams

And then I saw her face,  
>Now I'm a believer.<br>Not a trace  
>Of doubt in my mind.<br>I'm in love  
>(oooooo)<br>I'm a believer,  
>I couldn't leave her if I tried<p>

Then I saw her face,  
>Now I'm a believer<br>Not a trace of doubt in my mind,  
>Now I´m a Believer<br>Yeah, yeah, yeah,  
>Yeah, yeah, yeah<p>

I'm a believer.

I'm a believer."

As the song was sang, both Bailey and Maya turned to their boyfriends who just smiled back at them. Both shook their heads and grinned before laying their heads on their respective shoulders. The show continued on, and at various times, both couples got up to dance on the dance floor. Finally, it drew close to one in the morning and the show was about to end soon. Cody turned to Bailey.

"May I have one final dance for the evening?"

Bailey smiled. "Of course."

As they made it to the dance floor, Kurt came on the mike again.

"Alright lovebirds, the is the last song of the evening. My son Cody asked for this song especially to go out to his beautiful Bailey, so with that, lets the King take us home..."

Kurt began singing again. "Wise men say only fools rush in  
>but I can't help falling in love with you<br>Shall I stay  
>would it be a sin<br>If I can't help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea  
>Darling so it goes<br>some things are meant to be  
>take my hand, take my whole life too<br>for I can't help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea  
>Darling so it goes<br>some things are meant to be  
>take my hand, take my whole life too<br>for I can't help falling in love with you  
>for I can't help falling in love with you "<p>

Bailey smiled at Cody as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "This was from you too?"

Cody smiled back. "Yeah. It says exactly how I feel about you..."

"I guess that makes us the fools, huh?"

"I guess so...but I still couldn't help falling..."

"Me either."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Bails..."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Cody..." She leaned in and kissed him.

Once the show was over, they all met Kurt backstage. And he was grinning at them all.

"I hope you all had fun."

Maya smiled. "We sure did, Mr. Martin."

Bailey smiled too. "Thank you for inviting us."

"My pleasure." He checked his watch. "Wow, its late. I have to help take everything down and packed away. How about I meet you all for breakfast..." He paused. "Make that lunch. I'll meet you in the lobby at noon and we'll find some place to go."

Zack turned to his Dad. "You have a show tomorrow night too?"

Kurt grinned. "Nope. I have my own Valentine's Date here in the city." He winked at Cody. "Turns out one of those ladies I mentioned to you was going to be in New York this weekend too."

Cody shook his head. "On that note, I think we should head back to the hotel."

The four bid Kurt a good night, and headed out of the club. And when they got outside, it was snowing and very cold. Cody gave Zack a look, and both soon offered their jackets to their girlfriends. Fortunately, the walk back to the hotel was a fairly quick one, so no one froze. And once in the elevators, Cody and Bailey bid Zack and Maya goodnight when they got off on the 36th floor. The next floor up, Cody and Bailey got off the elevator and made their way to their room.

Once inside, both just fell back on the bed. Cody turned to Bailey.

"Are you as exhausted as I am?"

Bailey yawned. "Oh yeah...I think its official. We're not night owls..."

Cody laughed. "I tend to agree...I debating if I even have the energy to change clothes..."

"Same here...But I know I should so I don't wrinkle this dress..."

"Bails, would it bother you if I just slept in my undershirt and boxers? I don't feel like digging through my bag for my sleepwear..."

She smiled. "Not at all...Would you mind if I used your button up shirt and and did the same..."

Cody grinned. "Not in the least..."

Both finally got up, and Cody was the first to change. So, he pulled back the sheet and comforter. And when he looked up, Bailiey walked out of the bathroom in his button up shirt that came to her mid thigh. He just shook his head.

"Maybe I should have requested 'Darling, You Look Wonderful Tonight'? It definitely would have been fitting."

Bailey smiled. "Thank you, Sweetie. I appreciate that."

Cody held the comforter for her as she slid into bed and climbed in behind her. "I can't wait to see New York with you tomorrow..."

"Me either..." She yawned again. "But I think we she definitely get back to the room well before..." She checked the clock. "...2:00 AM. I enjoyed spending the evening with Maya, Zack and your Dad, but I'll be glad to have some alone time."

"Me too." Cody yawned this time. He pulled Bailey into his arms and kissed her. "Goodnight, Sweetie...Love you."

"Love you too..." Bailey paused. "Cody?"

"Uh huh?"

"Thank you..."

"For what?"

"For making me feel so comfortable and at ease today and tonight. I got a little more daring today, and I could see the look in your eyes. I wasn't nervous at all. It feels really good to know how you really see me..."

Cody nuzzled her neck. "As the most beautiful woman in the world?"

Bailey sighed in contentment. "Yeah, and I know you really mean that. I hope you know I feel the same way about you."

"Thanks, Bails..."

Bailey paused. Maybe it was time to discuss what she had with Maya. "You know how we talked about we would both know when we were ready fro that next step?"

Cody just nodded half asleep. "Uh huh..."

"I think I may be ready..."

He paused and his eyes flew open. "Wait a minute! What?"

__To be Continued...__


	36. A Day for Lovers

_Chapter 36_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Bailey looked up and saw Cody looking at her with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging wide open in shock. She couldn't help but laugh at that sight in front of her.

"Settle down, Cody. I didn't mean tonight or even this weekend..."

Cody blinked his eyes. "Okay, I'm fully awake now, and you have my full attention. But lets rewind a little bit, shall we?"

Bailey smiled. "Good idea. Okay, well, Maya and I were talking while you and Zack went to get the drinks and before those jerks showed up. She was kind of questioning us sleeping in the same bed and nothing else going on..."

Cody nodded. "I got the essentially the same interrogation from Zack..."

"Well, as we were talking, I realized something. I realized I've been scared of us taking our relationship to the next level. And I realized I was being a little silly about it..."

Cody smiled. "Bails, it doesn't matter to me. If you're scared, its perfectly natural. Heck, I'm a little scared myself..." He paused. "...But, if she told you any specifics about her and my brother, I really don't want to know..."

Bailey laughed. "Trust me...I'm right there with you." She paused. "But I realized the reason I was scared was because of Moose. I had associated sex as another way he was trying to keep me in Kettlecorn and control me. I refused his advances because I knew that's what he was doing, but at the same time, I kind of put the topic in a box and shoved it to the back of my mind. I guess I associated sex as something that was bad that was there to get in the way of what I truly wanted." She smiled. "Well, that was until I met you and that box refused to be hidden away anymore. And it dawned on me that it wasn't bad. That it wasn't an obstacle to get in the way. And that you would never use it to try to control me. Cody, you once told me you were a normal guy and had urges. Well, I've been having those too. When I was in my towel earlier, I loved the effect I was having on you..."

Cody laughed. "Bails, you always have that effect on me. But, I completely understand what you are saying. With Barbara, she was the exact opposite and was never around. So, I didn't really have to deal with any urges. But with you, its like its 24/7. But instead of letting it frustrate me, I realize its a good thing. I know I have a beautiful girlfriend, and I'm extremely proud of that. But as beautiful and as sexy as you are, I refused to act on my urges. Because you are so much more to me than a beautiful woman. You remember when we we're fooling Moose when I said your outer beauty is only exceeded by your inner beauty?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah..."

Cody smiled. "I meant that. Bails, you are the total package." He paused contemplating whether to tell her something and decided to just be honest. "Zack even asked me if I was willing to wait until our wedding night. And I told him I would if that's what it took, then I was more than willing to do that. And I mean that too..."

Bailey smiled again. "Really? You've thought about marrying me and proposing?"

"Well, not exactly in those exact words, but I definitely see a long, long future with you. I guess I assumed that marriage and proposing would take care of itself when the time was right..."

"I've thought about a long, long future with you too. And that's one of the reasons I was scared before. I don't want to do anything to screw up what we have."

"Me either."

"But, I don't want this to be a taboo topic we never talked about it and pretended like it doesn't exist. We're both highly attracted to each other, so there's going to be sexual tension..."

Cody smiled. "You're right...So, what do we do about it?"

Bailey smiled back. "We keep talking about it. But, I promise you when the time is right, I won't let any of my previous insecurities or issues get in the way. Cody, I love you. I know you aren't Moose. I know your intentions towards me are completely good and pure because I know you love me. And when the time is right, I want to show you how much I love you too. I know it will be amazing"

"So do I..." He paused. "Well, I hope it will be anyways." He laughed. "Not like I'll have any idea what I'd be doing though..."

Bailey laughed too. "And I will? That's why it will be amazing because it will be us two exploring and discovering something together. Something that will be special between the two of us..."

"You're right." He leaned over and kissed Bailey again. "I'm glad we talked about this...Even if you did just about give me a stroke."

Bailey grinned. "So am I, and sorry for springing it on you like that. Promise me we'll always talk about things if something is bothering us..."

"I promise..." He grinned. "Now, does this mean I'll be seeing you be more daring from now on?"

"Maybe..."

Cody smiled. "Just maybe?"

Bailey reached over and turned off the light. "You'll just have to wait and see. Goodnight, Cody."

Cody just laughed and pulled her into his arms, and they both soon fell asleep. The next morning, Cody and Bailey both woke up about 10:00 AM. Bailey said she would get cleaned up first and climbed out of bed. Cody just watched her walk to the bathroom and smiled. At noon, they were down in the lobby waiting on everyone else to show up. And in about fifteen minutes, Kurt, Zack and Maya all stumbled into the lobby looking like they had had better days.

After lunch down the street at the Carnegie Deli, everyone broke apart for the day to to their own things. Cody and Bailey weren't sure, but they thought the other three might be heading back to the hotel for a nap. But before he did though, Kurt slipped something into Cody's pocket and whispered that he had taken care of everything. And when Bailey went to use the restroom, Cody checked to see what it was, and he smiled. It was an address and a time with three one hundred dollar bills. When Bailey returned, she smiled.

"So, what do you want to do first?"

"Well, its about one now. We need to be back at the hotel by 6:30 to change for my surprise later on. So, whatever the lady wants to do, we'll do..."

"What surprise?"

Cody grinned. "Just a little something I had someone set up for us...But, that's for later. Where to my dear?"

Bailey grinned back. "There's so much to see. We better get moving!"

And for the next five hours, they saw everything...or so it seemed. They went to Ground Zero and looked around. They went to Times Square and took in the experience of it as well. They went to Chinatown, and they went to Broadway. They even went and saw the New York Stock Exchange. They wanted to go to the Statue of Liberty, but they had just missed the last ferry by a few minutes. So, at 6:15, they were both walking back into their hotel, and both were exhausted but talking nonstop about everything they had seen.

Of course, they had little time to relax as they had to be changed and back out the door in a little over an hour. And after cleaning up, they were. Bailey had brought a red dress for the occasion, and it matched Cody's tie almost perfectly. The doorman hailed them a cab, and twenty minutes later, they were dropped off at a building in downtown Manhattan.

Bailey looked up. "Cody...this is your surprise?"

Cody grinned. "Almost. Let's head inside..."

Cody lead her over to an elevator and hit the button for the top floor. The entire way up, he just kept grinning.

"Cody...What do you have planned exactly?"

"You'll see..."

The elevator door opened, and they stepped out. And Bailey's mouth fell open in shock. They were in a revolving restaurant where they could see all of New York City. Cody wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You've made me watch _Sleepless in Seattle_ about ten times, and every time you've said this restaurant on Valentine's would be so romantic. So, I made it happen..."

Bailey turned to look at him. "You remembered...but how did you pull this off?"

Cody just smiled. "I had some help. And that's all I'm going to say..."

Bailey just shook her head and smiled, but soon enough, they were being seated at a table along side one of the windows. Cody pulled out her chair for her and then took his place across the table from her. Bailey just shook her head and smiled again.

"I can't believe you did all of this for me..."

"Why? Don't you think you're worth it? Because I do..."

Bailey kept smiling. "Thank you, Codykins..."

"Besides, I wanted to make our first Valentine's Day together to be special and one we will always remember..."

"You have..."

Cody took her hand in his. "I know thus far all of our dates have kind of been inexpensive ones. And I want take you places that you deserve to go to, but I'm just a poor college student. Valentine's Day is supposed to be the day for lovers, and I wanted to really romance you to show you how much you mean to me..."

Bailey smiled at him. "I appreciate that, Cody, but I'm a poor college student too. I understand the economics of things. But I don't need fancy things or grand gestures. Knowing that you love me and would want to do those things is enough for me. Maybe when we're both finally doctors, we can try some things with more expensive tastes. And even then, it still wouldn't matter to me. But until then though, I'm happy just being with you. That's all I want or need."

Cody smiled back at her. "I feel the same way. But for tonight, I want us to live it up. So order anything you want. I know we're only 18, but how does a bottle of sparkling cider sound?"

"Sounds wonderful..."

When their food came, both dove in. The food was excellent, but the company was even better. And as they waited for their check, Cody looked out the window and pointed.

"Hey! There it is!"

Bailey turned and saw it too. There was the Empire State Building lit up for Valentine's Day with hearts on each side. She couldn't help but smile and turn back to Cody.

"Tonight's been perfect."

"And its not over yet...We still have that whirlpool to soak and relax in when we get back..."

Bailey grinned. "You're right...we do. Lets get out of here!"

Cody practically flagged down their waiter and paid their bill. And soon enough, they were back in a cab headed back towards their hotel. The elevator seemed to take forever to get there, but it finally arrived. Of course, since they did have a long elevator ride up, they shared more than a few kisses on the way.

When they got there, Cody pulled her into his arms for a longer, more passionate kiss. When he finally pulled back, he smiled.

"You ready for your gift?"

Bailey smiled back. "If you're ready for yours..."

Cody nodded, and they both headed for their bags to find the gifts for the other. Once they did, both sat on the edge of the bed and exchanged them.

"Open yours first, Codykins..."

Cody smiled, and unwrapped the gift. Inside was a large handmade picture frame that contained several pictures of them from the past six months with the center one taken of them on New Year's Eve. And the frame was decorated with numerous mementos of their time together.

"Bails! This is amazing! I love it..."

"Well, I wanted to give you something to show you how much I love you, and I thought what better than a collection of some of my favorite memories."

"I'll treasure it always. Now, you open yours..."

Bailey did so and found a box inside. She opened the box and pulled out a stuffed pig. "I thought you were making me something..."

Cody smiled. "I did. I made that..."

Bailey examined it again. "But it looks so professionally done..."

"Thank you. But, I can sew as well. I remembered you always telling me how much you missed the animals on the farm. Well, I didn't think Yale would appreciate me bringing one in the dorm for you, so this is as close as I could get..."

Bailey grinned. "Well, I love it. I think he needs a name though..." She paused to think. "What do you think of the name Porkers?"

Cody grinned back. "I think its very fitting..."

"Me too...But right now, I think we both need to relax...We've had a long couple of days."

Cody checked his watch and smiled. "You go get changed, and I'll get it started. I have a final surprise for you due to show up in a few minutes..."

"Alright, but hurry..."

Bailey got her swimsuit out of her bag and headed into the inner part of the bathroom. Cody quickly changed into his trunks, and right on time, the door knocked. He tipped the guy and carried his surprise over to the whirlpool. He turned on the water, and when it was hot enough, he let the tub begin to fill. Once it was done, he climbed into the tub and waited on Bailey.

The door to the inner bathroom opened, and Bailey walked out. And Cody's eyes went wide. Bailey stood there in a two piece bathing suit, and to Cody, she looked beyond amazing.

"Wow..." He whistled at her.

Bailey grinned and walked over and climbed into the tub with him. "I'm glad you like..."

"Very much so, Sweetie. Now, close your eyes and open your mouth. I have a surprise for you..."

Bailey did so, and the next thing she knew, she felt Cody tracing something along her lips and then across her tongue.

"Take a bite, Bails."

She did so and opened her eyes wide. "Chocolate covered strawberries? Cody! How romantic!"

Cody grinned. "I'm glad you like them."

Bailey grinned back and grabbed another one. "My turn!"

For the next little while, they fed each other and splashed around with each other in the whirlpool. Finally, Bailey was sitting between Cody's legs with his arms wrapped around her. She was laying back against his chest.

"This had been the best weekend ever..."

Cody leaned down to nuzzle her neck. "Yeah, it has...But just think, in a few weeks, we'll be on the open sea and have ten whole days to do stuff like this..."

She sighed in contentment. "I know...I can't wait..."

"Though, I'm not sure I'm ready to share the view in front of me with anyone else just yet..."

Bailey turned around and kissed him. "I could care less what anyone else thinks of it. The only opinion I care about is yours."

Cody smiled. "Just know how much I love it..."

"I do...Happy Valentine's Day, Cody..."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Bails..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter. When I wrote this chapter, I had just watched American Pie again. If you've seen it, you might now where I got my inspiration. Anyways, I had a busy day today and didn't get a chapter for one of my other stories done. I promise to have on for tomorrow. Bar review is just taking up a lot of time.**__  
><em>_


	37. Departing the Big Apple

_Chapter 37_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Since checkout was at noon the next day, Cody and Bailey were up by ten that morning to give themselves plenty of time. And after their weekend, Cody and Bailey were both a lot more comfortable around each other in wearing less and less. After his shower, Cody thought nothing of coming out of the bathroom in his boxers. Likewise, after Cody saw her in her bikini the night before, Bailey thought nothing of Cody seeing her in her underwear that morning. Of course, she did smile and tell him he was now number three. Cody just laughed and shook his head.

The plan that morning was to check out and meet Kurt, Zack and Maya in the hotel's coffee shop before heading their separate ways. Cody and Bailey even went ahead and took their bags out to the car first, and they were still the first ones to arrive. And like the day before, everyone finally arrived looking tired from their evenings in New York.

Maya smiled at Bailey. "How was your night last night?"

Bailey was about to say something but caught herself. She wasn't sure what Zack had planned, so she decided not to give too many details. No need in getting Zack mad at Cody if he hadn't planned something special too. "It was a very romantic night. Cody had a few surprises for me that were completely wonderful."

Kurt winked at his youngest. "Glad you two had fun out in the city then."

Cody smiled. "We did. What about you, Dad? How was your evening?"

Kurt laughed. "I had a lot of fun last night too, and we'll leave it at that."

Zack spoke up. "So, what's next for you, Dad?"

"Back to Florida. We have studio space rented in Miami, and we're about to begin laying our next album..."

"Great...You're taking your talents to South Beach while we deal with more New England winter weather..."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Don't you get tired of saying that? You're driving poor Woody crazy every time you do..."

Zack laughed. "That's why I do it..."

Kurt just shook his head. "So, do you guys have a lot of work to do when you get back?"

Bailey shook her head. "Not much. We did a lot of it before we left on Friday. Mostly, we just have some reading to do when, and we should have that done before dinner."

Kurt nodded. "Good, I'm in awe of how well you both are doing..." He grinned. "Especially with your new living arrangements..."

Cody and Bailey just looked at him in shock. "Dad...I...we..."

Kurt laughed. "I see I was right then..."

Bailey was petrified. "You were just guessing?"

"Yeah, I was. You two taking the room with one single king sized bed clued me in, but I wasn't sure until you just confirmed it for me. I'm happy for you both...and my lips are sealed."

Cody was surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. Cody, you're a grown man now. I trust you to know what you're doing. Besides, you both have good heads on your shoulders. I have faith you both know what you're doing and will be responsible."

Zack smiled. "Same with me, Dad?"

Kurt paused. "Well...Not really, but after meeting Maya, I know she'll keep you in line. So, I know both of my boys are in good hands. Anyways, I hate to eat and run, but I have to be getting on to the airport. Boys...I mean men, I'll be in touch. Ladies, it was a pleasure to meet you both. If I may say, both of my sons are very lucky. I look forward to seeing you both again soon."

And with that Kurt hugged everyone goodbye, grabbed his bag, and headed out. The other four finished their breakfasts and were ready to get on the road themselves. Cody turned to Bailey.

"We have about a two hour drive ahead of us. You ready to get going?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, might as well." She turned to Maya and Zack. "I guess we'll see you guys later then."

Cody spoke up. "Actually, either way you two go back to Boston, you have to go through New Haven. If you want, you two can stop by our dorm and see where we're living..."

Zack turned to Maya. "What do you think?"

She smiled. "I think we can spare a half hour or so. I say we do it..."

Once it was settled, everyone returned to the parking garage and into Cody's car and Maya's car respectively. And once they were ready, they were off. A couple of hours later, Maya followed Cody off of the interstate and followed him through New Haven. Thankfully, it was a Sunday afternoon, and traffic wasn't bad. Finally, Cody pulled into a parking space outside of Vanderbilt Hall, and Maya pulled into the spot next to him. Since it was the weekend, parking was not monitored.

Cody and Bailey grabbed their bags and lead Maya and Zack down the stairs to the basement and then into their room.

"This is it guys. Our home sweet home..."

Zack looked around. "The extreme cleanliness looks familiar..." He paused and laughed. "Its just kind of funny. You went from a deluxe suite in the sky to the basement..."

Cody nodded. "The same thought struck me as well..."

Maya looked around at everything. "I like it. Not as big as I was picturing, but you two have definitely given it a homey feeling. I can see why you two spend so much time in here." She walked over and checked out the bathroom and sighed. "I am so jealous..."

Bailey smiled. "If I had known how nice it was going to be, I would have used it all of last semester..."

Maya paused. "I have to say...Bailey, I didn't peg you as the kind to have so many personal care products..."

Zack laughed. "I guarantee most of them are Cody's..."

Bailey nodded. "Well, he's technically correct. They started off as Cody's, but we both use them now..."

Zack looked around himself. "So, Broseph, you told me you had everything you all needed in your dorm. Like what?"

"We have a laundry room just down the hall, and we have a dining room with cafeteria up on the first floor. When it snowed, we didn't have to leave the building. That was really nice."

Zack nodded and paused. "I have a question for you though about Yale."

"Shoot."

"Are all of those stories about secret societies around here true? You know, like the Skulls and things like that?"

Bailey laughed. "We wouldn't know. Most of the secret societies are for seniors, and we're only freshmen. And the ones who would know, aren't talking..."

Maya smiled. "What about sororities and fraternities? You guys thought about joining one of them?"

"Well, there are those, but they really aren't that big on this campus. From what we've been told is that those are mainly for the athletes. And that's neither of us. The big student groups are the A Capella groups. We might consider one of those later, but we both decided that this year we would focus on our studies and see how much free time we have afterwards. If we do, we'll think about it."

Maya nodded and checked her watch. "Well, we'd love to stay, but if we want to get back before five o'clock, we need to be heading back." She smiled. "It was good seeing you both again. Don't be strangers in Boston."

Bailey smiled back. "We won't."

After everyone said their goodbyes, Maya and Zack were back on the road back to Boston. Cody and Bailey just looked at each other, smiled and began unpacking their bags. They decided to go ahead and get their final reading out of the way, but they were going to do some laundry as they did. And in another sign that they were now a 'we' instead of a 'you and me', they combined their dirty clothes together and did them in loads together.

Once they had their clothes in the washer and set their timer, they began to get ready to do their reading. But before they did, both had something to do first. While Cody placed the picture frame Bailey had made him prominently on his desk, Bailey took her new stuffed Porkers and placed it on top of her pillow. Both smiled at the other, but no words were necessary. They just took their seats at their desks and did their reading. When their timer went off, they went and transferred everything to dryers. By six that evening, both their reading and laundry were done. And side by side, they stood by the bed and either folded or hung up their clothes.

At one point, Cody held up one her bras and smiled. "Wow...this is nice. Think it would match my blue shirt?"

Bailey just shook her head, laughed and grabbed it out of his hands. "Probably..." She picked up one of his sweater vests and threw it at him. "But it would probably go better with this..."

Cody laughed too. "Just leave any high heels out of it...once was enough to last me a lifetime..."

But Bailey stopped laughing and just looked at him. "Once was enough? Something you need to tell me, Sweetie?"

Cody paused and his eyes went wide. "Oh...ummm...long story..."

"I have time..."

Cody sighed. "When I was eleven or twelve, I did something in retrospect that was rather silly and stupid..."

"I'm listening..."

Taking a deep breath, Cody told Bailey the events of his brief time as Tyreesha and being a contestant in the Tipton's beauty pageant. "Like I said...not my finest moment..."

But Bailey was laughing so hard, she had to sit down. Tears were forming in her eyes. Cody sighed again and sat down next to her. "Alright, get it out of your system..."

Bailey wiped the tears from her eyes and caught her breath. "Let me get this straight. To impress a girl, you pretended to be another contestant and dressed up like a girl. And to make it even crazier, you somehow made the finals. Then, on top of that, you were going to throw the contest only for Zack to find out how much prize money you could win. And he locked you in a closet and took your place only for everything to come crashing down in a blaze of glory..."

Cody just nodded. "Pretty much..."

"That's the funniest thing I've ever heard. I mean, I can understand you almost winning, but...That's just as crazy as thinking about me dressing up as boy for some reason..."

Cody smiled. "Well, you did look amazing in my dress shirt..."

Bailey smiled back. "Thanks, Sweetie, but I'm not letting you change the subject that easy." She teased him. "I'm not going to have to worry about you trying on my clothes, am I?"

Cody hung his head and closed his eyes. "I knew I should have kept my mouth shut about this..."

"I'm just teasing you, Honey. You have to admit that if it had happened to someone else, it would sound completely absurd..."

Cody sighed. "I know..."

Bailey wrapped her arm around him and smiled. "I'm glad you told me..."

Cody looked at her. "So you have more ammunition to tease me with?"

She laughed. "A little, but it gives me even more insight to how you think. Cody, girls do talk. And one of the things I've always heard was you can tell a lot about a guy by the way he treated his exes. You went through that trouble when you were only eleven or twelve, and I know you treated Barbara well even though she didn't deserve it."

Cody nodded. "If that's true, I feel sorry for the next person who dates Moose then..."

"Me too. But that's not my problem or my concern any more. I have my feller now. And no matter what you did for that girl, you've already done way more for me. And you do that everyday. So, while its funny to hear about your misadventures when you were a kid, I'm looking forward to being on all of your adventures from now on..."

Cody smiled. "Me too. And we have two adventures coming up soon...midterms and then spring break."

Bailey smiled back at him. "I know, and I can't wait. Tell you what, why don't we go get dinner and then we'll come back and pull up the schedule for the S.S. Tipton and see what lies ahead of us?"

"Sounds like a plan to me, Bails."

"Good." She stood up. "Lets head on to the dining room..." She grinned. "Tyreesha..."

Cody stood up and grinned. "Oh, I'm going to get you for that one!"

Bailey ran out of the room with Cody right on her heels.

__To be Continued...__


	38. Guess Who?

_Chapter 38_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Once Valentine's Day weekend was over, Cody and Bailey had three weeks of classes to go before spring break was due to begin. And naturally, the week before spring break was going to be midterms week. The way they figured it, they had a week to take it easy before beginning their studying in earnest the week after. So, that first week back, they just went about their usual routines and tried to live life as close to normal as possible. Well, almost. With their new levels of comfort with each other, their use of robes in the morning went by the wayside. On the Friday of the first week back, they decided to hit the campus movie theater once more to have a date night out before the real fun began. The film this time was in French.

Of course, that weekend, the pair were planning on holing themselves up in their room and and studying for two straight days. But, due to maintenance issues with the heat in Vanderbilt Hall, they were forced to go the library instead. Not that they would have froze, but the constant noise of the repairs was distracting.

On Saturday afternoon, they were still in the library hard at work when Cody turned to Bailey.

"How does something to drink sound?"

Bailey smiled. "Perfect. Lots of caffeine but no calories would be nice..."

Cody smiled back. "I'm on it. I'll be right back." Cody got up and headed off to the library's deli. Bailey opened her laptop and was checking her e-mail when she sensed someone was standing next to her. She looked up and saw someone she had never seen before.

"Can I help you?"

The guy smiled. "You know who I am, right?"

Bailey shook her head. "Can't say I do. Should I?"

"My name's Holden. I'm the freshman wonder kid on the Yale lacrosse team..."

Bailey shrugged. "If you say so. I don't follow lacrosse all that closely other than knowing it uses the sticks with nets. It wasn't real popular where I grew up. In fact, I don't think anyone had probably heard of it."

Holden smiled again. "Maybe you should come check us out. We're favored to win the Ivy League and make the NCAA tournament."

"No thanks. I've got a busy enough schedule as it is and trying to get ready for spring break. So, if you don't mind, I need to get back to studying for midterms next week."

"That's why I came over. You're in my Calc VI class, and I've noticed you know what you're talking about in there. I was hoping to ask you to help tutor me for the midterm. I'm completely lost in that class, and if I fail it, I could lose my eligibility..."

Bailey shook her head. "I can't. I have a set routine for exams. Its worked for me so far, and I'm not about to throw a monkey wrench into the mix."

He laughed. "Not even for the good of the school?"

"Look. I'm here on an academic scholarship, and I'm trying to earn one for medical school too. Besides, doesn't the athletic department provide tutors for you when you need one?"

Holden smiled again. "Well, yeah, but I doubt any of them would be as cute as you...I could pay you back for your help by taking you out to dinner and a movie afterwards. Or maybe something else..."

Bailey just looked at him. "Are you serious? Am I on some kind of totally hidden video thing right now?"

"No, I'm being completely serious. I've noticed you all semester. This is just the first time I've seen you out and about on campus to talk to you..."

Bailey groaned. "Did I forget to mention that I'm studying with my BOYFRIEND? I doubt he would be happy about you trying to constantly flirt with me while we were trying to take our studies seriously. And that doesn't even take into account it would make me sick..."

Holden paused. "Wait a minute! That guy you were with was your boyfriend?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, he is...He's a wonderful student and even better guy."

He laughed. "Seriously? You're dating that nerd? You could do so much better!"

Bailey smirked. "Well, he's my nerd. And guess what? I'm a nerd too. Look around. Its Yale. There are a lot of nerds here. If you wanted to be a pampered sports star, you went to the wrong school. Try Ohio State. I hear they are giving their athletes all kinds of perks. Oh...I bet they didn't want you though. As for doing better, I love him and he's my best friend. He's not an arrogant, self absorbed jerk like someone else. I actually want to spend time with him, so I'm going to do my studying with him and him alone. So... buh bye."

Holden just glared at her. "Wow...Sorry I even bothered to come over then. This was a complete waste of my time..."

Bailey shook her head. "And you wonder why you're flunking..."

At that time, Cody returned with two bottled drinks for he and Bailey. He couldn't help but notice the look of disgust on the guy's face and look of agitation on Bailey's. "What's going on?"

Bailey looked up and smiled. "Oh, just another athlete who feels like the world owes him after he looks down upon it. Mmmm. Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry. You remembered its my favorite, Codykins..."

The guy just stormed away as Cody sat back down next to Bailey again. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

She smiled again. "Yeah. I'm fine. That's twice in about a week that's happened though. Maybe I should wear a sign around my neck saying I belong to you so people will finally get the idea..."

Cody smiled. "Not that I'd need one, but could you get one for me too?"

"I think I'd like having other girls know you're taken..."

"Well, I can understand why other guys would try to flirt with you. You're one of a kind, Bails."

Bailey leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I appreciate that. But there is only one guy for this gal, and he's one of a kind too..."

Cody grinned. "Could I take him?"

Bailey laughed. "I don't know...Would be fun to watch though..."

They resumed studying again. And once they felt they had spent enough time on Calculus, they switched their focus to their Organic Chem II class. As they were quizzing each other by going over all of their old homework assignments, they were interrupted by someone coming up from behind Cody and covering his eyes with their hands.

"Guess who?"

Cody paused trying to place the voice. It was somewhat familiar but at the same time, he couldn't place it. For her part, Bailey looked up and saw a slim brunette girl standing behind Cody grinning. And she didn't like it.

"Give up?"

Cody nodded. "I give..."

The girl released her hands, and Cody turned around. His eyes went open in surprise. "Max?"

She laughed. "So, you do remember me!"

Cody grinned and stood up to hug her. "What in the world are you doing here? Do you go to school here?"

Max just grinned. "No, not yet anyways..."

Cody shook his head. "What am I thinking? Max, this is my girlfriend, Bailey. Bails, this is the infamous Max I've told you all about..."

Max turned to Bailey and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you..."

Bailey shook her hand. "Likewise..."

Max grinned. "You're a brave woman for dating Cody. Don't ever go dancing with him..."

Bailey just looked at her when she remembered. "You're the one he was in the dance contest with when he fell off the stage. Zack said you and Carey took turns yelling at them."

Max laughed. "That's me."

Cody interrupted them. "What do you mean you don't go to school here, at least not yet?"

"I took a year off to go with a dance company on a world tour. I went to a performing arts high school in New York. I meant to tell you guys goodbye, but I had to be there so quick. Right now, I'm on a break just checking out schools I might want to go to in the fall. Though, I must admit, I'm kind of surprised to find you here at Yale. I figured you were Harvard bound for sure."

Cody sighed. "Zack happened..." He smiled though. "But, I'm glad he did. If he hadn't, I wouldn't have met my Bails here. So, everything worked out like it was supposed to."

Max nodded. "Sounds serious..."

Bailey spoke up this time. "It is. We're in love."

"Wow...Cody Martin in a serious relationship. I can't say I'm surprised though. You always were more the one woman type." She laughed. "Now, Zack..."

Cody smiled. "Has his own serious girlfriend himself. They both go to school at Boston College. Zack took a semester off to...find himself, but he quickly realized that he wasn't ready to work yet. What he wants to do now is anyone's guess."

"What about you, Cody? I'm sure you have it all planned out. You always did..."

Cody laughed. "I do. Bails and I are both wanting to be doctors. Her a pediatrician and me, well, no specialty in mind yet."

Max laughed. "Maybe obstetrics? You two could set up your own private practice. Cody delivers them and Bailey treats them..."

Bailey had to laugh at that and nudged Cody. "Its an idea to consider..."

Cody just shook his head. "We'll see..."

Max turned to Bailey. "So, you're actually willingly dating this guy. What's that really like?"

Bailey smiled. "Its great. He's the absolute best."

"Well, he is a good guy. We've been friends for years, so I expect you to take good care of him for me. Yes, he's a lousy dancer...basketball player...magician...mime..."

Cody sighed. "We get the point..."

Bailey laughed. "Don't worry...I'll take very good care of him."

"Good." Max looked over. "Well, my tour group is moving on. I hope to keep in touch better than I did the last time."

Cody tore off a piece of paper and scribbled something down. "Here's my cell phone number. Give me a call sometime and I can give you Zack's number too and fill you in on some other people from Boston. Well, except for Tapeworm. He disappeared too." He stood up to hug her again. "Good seeing you again, Max. Maybe we'll see each other around campus next year"

"Good seeing you again too, Cody. And nice to meet you, Bailey. If Cody likes you, you must be alright. See you all later...And we'll see about next year" And with that, Max was off again.

Cody sat down and shook his head. "What were the odds of that happening?"

Bailey laughed.. "I know...By the way, you never said she was so attractive."

Cody shrugged. "That's all completely new. When I last saw her, she was the epitome of a tomboy..." He smiled. "Besides, she still can't hold a candle to you..."

"Nice save, Cody..."

He paused. "Don't tell me you were a little jealous before you knew who she was..."

Bailey looked back down at her textbook. "Not in the least..."

Cody smiled again. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Good. Because you have no reason to be. I would gladly wear the sign that said I belonged to you."

Bailey had to smile at that. "I know. I know you're all mine, but I have no qualms about putting someone in their place who tries to dispute that."

"I hope you know you are the only woman I notice. I only have eyes for you..."

"Really?"

Cody smiled. "Of course. When you have the best, why bother with the rest?"

Bailey laughed. "Cody, that was incredibly sweet...extremely corny...but sweet. And I feel the same way about you. You have no idea how happy I am that you are nothing like that jerk from before. If you hadn't shown up, I was about to use that move you showed me."

"Well, I have no qualms about putting someone in their place who tries to mess with my lady...If someone looked at you funny or winked at you inappropriately, they'd have to deal with me..."

Bailey grinned. "Settle down, Sweetie. I don't want you getting into fights over me. If someone one bothers one of us, they'll deal with both of us. And we just showed in New York how lethal of a duo we can be..."

"You're right. We did. Alright, enough of that. Lets get back to studying for Organic Chem II. We may be leaving for spring break in two weeks, but we have a lot to do until then. We need to keep our eyes on the prize."

__To be Continued...__


	39. Back to Boston Part Trois

_Chapter 39_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After an intense week of nothing but eating, sleeping and studying, Cody and Bailey both felt that they were ready for midterms. And they were. This round of exams was a tough one, but both loved that fact. To them, the more challenging a test, the better it was. Of course, they were glad the exams were all graded anonymously by number as they didn't want to get dirty looks for destroying the curve. On the Friday afternoon of midterm week, they finished their last exam and walked back to their dorm feeling free and smiling. They now had two weeks off, and ten of those days would be spent sailing around on a cruise ship.

Bailey sighed. "In two days, we'll be boarding the boat in Boston for ten days of fun in the sun..." She paused. "Wait a minute. Won't the weather in the North Atlantic still be cold?"

Cody grinned. "It would be if we were boarding the boat in Boston..."

Bailey frowned. "But, I thought you said we leave on Sunday morning."

"We are...we're leaving on the Tipton private jet to head down to the Bahamas where we'll board the ship in Nassau..."

Bailey just shook her head. "You just now telling me this?"

Cody grinned again. "Did I forget to mention that part? No big deal though. We've already got our passports, so its not like we have anything to worry about. Just one more item on our itinerary."

She just shook her head and teased him. "You're lucky I love you, you know that?"

"I know...I thank God every day that you do."

Bailey grinned. "Just know the baby pictures are coming out as soon as we get back to Boston..."

Cody sighed. "Understood. Now, how about a quick lunch and then we'll go about digging out our shorts, t-shirts and sandals?"

"Well, since we'll be in the Caribbean, those actually might come in handy..."

After lunch, Cody and Bailey went to Bailey's room to carry her trunk down to the dungeon as that's where all of her warm weather clothes were packed away. Likewise, Cody had packed all of his away into an airtight container in the bottom of the closet. Naturally, they realized they needed to do laundry again. So, Friday afternoon was spent doing that and then packing everything into their bags. And when they were done with that, they realized they needed to go out an pick up a few things like sunscreen and aloe just in case. By the time they were ready to call it a night, they were ready to leave first thing in the morning. All of their bags were packed and in the trunk of Cody's car. And they had a smaller bag containing a change of clothes for them for the next day and another to change into on the plane. After checking the weather in Nassua, they realized it was going to be about 90 degrees when they landed and jeans and sweatshirts wouldn't be too comfortable.

Saturday morning, once they had showered and changed, they were off towards Boston. A couple of hours later, they were pulling back into the parking garage of the Boston Tipton. Unloading the car, they made their way back up to the lobby. But something was different. Moseby wasn't standing behind the front desk as usual. Instead, Esteban was standing there in his stead. Cody frowned, and they walked over to speak to him.

"Esteban?"

He grinned. "One of my little blonde peoples has come back!"

Cody grinned. "Yeah, its spring break. You remember my girlfriend, Bailey, right?"

"But of course. So good to see you again, Miss Bailey...And congratulations to you both. Carey can't stop talking about you and Miss Maya..."

Bailey smiled. "Thank you, Esteban...How is your wife doing?"

Esteban just smiled. "Oh, my Francesca is doing great. We found out a few weeks ago that we are going to be parents for the first time!"

"Congratulations to you too then!"

Cody nodded. "I'm happy for you, Esteban. I have to ask though. What are you doing behind the desk here? Did you get a promotion?"

"I did. Mr. Moseby was offered and took a promotion at another Tipton property, and he actually recommended me to be his replacement. Plus, I don't think it hurt that Miss London seems to be fond of me as well. Well, she doesn't have to break in someone new who might stand up to her..."

Cody smiled. "Seems like everything is working out well for you, Esteban. Couldn't happen to a better guy."

Esteban grinned. "Thank you. And I could say the same for you. I'm glad to see you dropped that bad girl and finally found a lady who truly makes you happy..."

"That she does..."

Cody and Bailey headed up to the 24th floor, and into the suite where they parked their suitcases out of the way. And once she heard the door open, Carey came out of her bedroom and smiled when she saw them.

"There you two are!" She walked over and hugged them both. "Its good to see you both again, even if its only for a day..."

Bailey smiled back at her. "Its good to be back."

"Well, I heard you two had a fun Valentine's weekend. How is Kurt doing?"

Cody grinned. "Dad's doing well, Mom. He's back in the studio working on an album now."

Carey nodded. "Well, I wish I could spend more time with you both this evening, but I have a performance...and plans afterwards..."

"What kind of plans, Mom? A date perhaps?"

Carey shook her head. "That's none of your business..."

Cody turned to Bailey. "Hmmm...Was it just me, but didn't she make our relationship her business?"

Bailey just smiled. "I'm not getting involved in this. Its none of my business, and I want to stay on your Mom's good side..."

Carey laughed. "And that's why I like her so much. Anyways, Cody, I'm your mother. Its my prerogative to meddle in your love life..." She paused. "Besides, I've spent the past 18 years raising my twin boys. You're both now grown men and out on your own, and you don't need me as much. Time for me to get back out there. Will you begrudge me that?"

Cody shook his head. "No, but as your son, its my prerogative to keep an eye on you to make sure you're okay..."

"I appreciate that, but you have nothing to worry about. My date is a gentleman..."

"Do I know him?"

Carey just looked away and mumbled something.

Cody began laughing. "I'm sorry, but I could have sworn you said it was Arwin..."

She sighed. "It is..."

Cody just grinned. "Nothing more needs to be said. Have fun tonight. We won't wait up." He turned to Bailey. "With Zack gone, there's a free bed in my old room. It has to be much more comfortable than that couch was..."

Carey frowned. "Hold it! You two sleeping in the same room? I don't think so..."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Mom, get your mind out of the gutter. Bailey is our guest..."

"And she's also your girlfriend!" She paused and turned to Bailey. "No offense, just being a Mom..."

Bailey smiled. "I completely understand..."

Cody sighed. "Mom. Its the room right next to yours. And there are two different beds..." He winked at Bailey. "Besides, those are only big enough for one grown person..."

Carey paused. "Oh, alright...but I expect that door to not to be locked when I get home!"

Bailey spoke up. "Don't worry, it won't be. This is your home, and we respect your rules."

"Alright then, well, I don't have to be at rehearsal for a couple of hours. What are your plans for this afternoon?"

Bailey grinned. "Actually, like I was telling Cody, I would love to see some old pictures of Cody from when he was younger..."

Carey laughed. "Oh, I have tons of those!"

Carey brought several albums off of a shelf and brought them over to the coffee table. Bailey immediately joined her as they opened the first album. Bailey looked up and smiled. "Aren't you going to join us, Codykins?"

Cody sighed. "In a bit...I need to go find London and find out what our schedule is for tomorrow..."

Bailey nodded. "Probably a good idea..." She smiled again. "We'll be here when you get back..."

Cody nodded and left. Carey just turned to Bailey and laughed. "Thank you..."

"For what?"

"For being you. You are exactly what Cody needs in his life. Someone who appreciates the drive and goals he has and supports them. But more importantly, for accepting him exactly for who he is and loving him for it. And you challenge him. He needs that."

Bailey smiled. "He's exactly what I need in my life for the exact same reasons."

Meanwhile, Cody headed up to the penthouse and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, London opened the door, and Cody could see bags upon bags upon bags piled up in her room.

"What?"

Cody paused. "London, you think you packed enough?"

She turned and paused. "You're right. Consuela, pack even more of my things!" Her maid sighed and went to work. London turned back to Cody. "Now, what do you want?"

"I was just checking to see what the schedule was for tomorrow."

"Oh...We're leaving the hotel at 8 AM and should be in the air by nine. So, you and Betty should be in the lobby ready to go by 7:45."

"That's Bailey..."

London shrugged. "Whatever..."

"And I thought you never did anything willingly before noon..."

"I don't! Ivana and I will be sleeping on the plane..." She paused. "You're really bringing that girl from Thanksgiving with you? You really love this one, don't you?"

Cody smiled. "Yeah, I do..."

London smiled. "Good. I didn't think there was another one out there like you, but I'm glad I was wrong..." She paused. "Hope she doesn't run when she sees what I have planned for you..."

"She won't. She said she wanted to be there with me to support me."

"She says that now...She might be out of the faster than you can say fried chicken..."

Cody grinned "I even took her for a picnic at the seaquarium, and she loved it. She's definitely a keeper."

London smiled again. "Really? Wow...I just won a thousand dollars then!"

"You did? How?"

"Years ago, Chelsea told me that no one girl would ever like your idea for a first daye. But, even though it sounded boring to me, I had a feeling you'd find someone who did. So, I won the bet we made. Yay me!"

Cody laughed. "Glad I could help...Well, we'll see you in the morning..."

Cody returned to the 24th floor, and he found his Mom and Bailey just going through even more pictures. He just shook his head and joined them on the couch. Bailey turned to him and smiled.

"You're Mom was showing me your long hair phase..." She teased him. "Nice look, Fabio..."

Cody laughed. "I know...But I'll have you know a lot of people thought I looked good like that."

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You actually did. I may be biased, but I think you were always adorable. Still are, but now you're extremely handsome as well..."

Cody grinned. "Thanks, Sweetie..."

Bailey help up one picture in particular though and grinned back at him. "But Codykins...you don't work as a redhead..."

__To be Continued...__


	40. Bahamas Bound

_Chapter 40_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The rest of the night, Bailey and Cody continued looking through old photographs. And Bailey was loving every minute of it as she able to watch Cody grow up through the pictures. She did have to admit to herself that when they were younger that Cody and Zack were almost identical. But she did smile when she realized even then that she could easily tell them apart. Sometimes it would be obvious as Zack would be dressed in skater clothes while Cody came off as more preppy. But there were definitely other tells that she picked up on. Of course, she could tell that when they finally entered puberty, they became even easier to tell apart. As for Cody, he was kind of embarrassed seeing all of the pictures again, but it made Bailey happy and that was all that mattered to him. And when he showed her some old video tapes, Bailey laughed even more. She especially loved the one that had caused Cody and Zack to think they might have been switched.

Cody shook his head. "Glad you enjoy it. For a while, I didn't know who I was."

Bailey smiled at him. "I know who you are though. And as much as I enjoy the name Codykins, the name isn't important to me but rather its the man who you are."

Cody smiled back. "Thanks." He checked his watch. "You know, its almost eleven. We have to be up in less than eight hours to meet London early tomorrow morning. You about ready for bed?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, we really should turn in soon. Wish we could share your bed tonight, but I don't want your Mom to accidentally catch us."

"I know, but at least I'll be right across the room. Tell you what, I'll let you have my old bed if you want it. I think Zack's sheets have probably be washed since he last used it, but I can't be for sure..."

Bailey laughed. "Thanks, Codykins..."

Before long, they changed, headed off to bed, and soon fell asleep. They didn't sleep as well as they usually did right next to each other, but having the other in the room was better than nothing though. And Bailey had been right. About one in the morning, Carey got back home and checked on them. She did sigh in relief when she saw they were indeed in separate beds. Carey did pause and wonder about the stuffed pig the Bailey slept with wrapped up in her arms.

The next morning, Cody's alarm went off at 6:30. He got out of bed and gently woke Bailey up. He told her to grab the shower first while he got their bags ready to head out. He even grabbed their smaller bag and took it into the bedroom to be waiting on them. Fifteen minutes later, Bailey was showered and slipped out of the bathroom in her towel after making sure Carey wasn't up. She and Cody switched places as he headed for the shower. Ten minutes later, he returned to the room in just his boxers and found Bailey in her underwear making the beds.

Cody grinned. "You sure do know the way directly to my heart, don't you?"

Bailey looked up and laughed. "I'm pretty sure I do..." She walked over and kissed him. "Good morning."

"Good morning to you too. I would fix us breakfast, but I get the feeling we will be served something on the plane."

Bailey shrugged. "That's fine with me..." She grinned. "Just think...in a matter of hours, we'll be in on the ship in the middle of the Caribbean!"

Cody smiled at her. "I know." He paused. "And as much as I hate myself for saying this, we better get dressed..."

Bailey kissed his cheek again. "My sentiments exactly..."

By 7:30, they were dressed and ready to head downstairs. Cody knocked on Carey's door and told her that they were leaving and would be back the week after next. Carey was still asleep, but she hugged them both before she went back to bed. Cody and Bailey dragged their bags down to the lobby to wait for London to show up. And when she did, it wasn't exactly what they were expecting. Two bellboys were carrying her and Ivana, and both still had their sleep masks on. And another three bellboys were pushing luggage carts overflowing with all of her bags to take out to the limo. Fortunately, it was a stretch limo so there was room for all of their bags.

The entire drive to Logan's general aviation terminal was a quiet one. Cody and Bailey constantly looked at each other but never said a thing as London continued to sleep. And she never woke up when they got to the airport, unloaded all of the bags and even when they carried her on the plane and strapped her and Ivana into their seat belts. Cody and Bailey just went with it, and were almost floored when the plane taking off didn't wake London up either.

With the flight set to take approximately four hours, they were due to land in Nassau at about one that afternoon. So, with four hours to waste, Cody and Bailey each pulled out one of the books they brought to read, and snuggled together to do so. And Cody was right. About an hour into the flight, the flight attendant brought them breakfast to eat. Once they were done eating, they pulled out a Caribbean guide book they had bought and started going through everything they wanted to see while in ports. They tried to whisper to keep it down though as not to wake up London.

"Can you two make any more noise?"

Both looked up and saw London glaring at them.

"You heard us whispering?"

"Duh! That's why I'm awake!"

Bailey turned to look at Cody in confusion, but he just shook his head indicating not to even bother asking. Bailey shrugged and turned back to London and smiled. "I wanted to thank you again for bringing us along with you, Miss Tipton. And I wanted to thank you again for the autographed picture you signed for my sister. She's your biggest fan and absolutely loved it."

London just looked at her. "Okay..." She yawned. "What time is it?"

Cody checked his watch. "Almost 11:30. We should land in about an hour and a half."

London shook her head and sighed. "This is way too early..."

Cody paused and turned to Bailey. "You know, we should go ahead and change into our warmer clothes. Why don't you go first?"

Bailey smiled at him, and grabbed their carry on bag. "Be right back..."

Cody watched her walk away and turned to find London looking at him. "What?"

London shook her head. "You've got it bad..."

Cody smiled. "Yeah, I do..."

"Just glad I've never acted like that..."

Cody laughed. "But London...I've seen you act like that several times. I still remember you dressing up as a mermaid to try to get Lance back..."

London paused. "Okay, maybe once I acted a little crazy..."

"Okay, how about the guy you pretended to be poor with to go out with him?"

London shook her head. "Okay...two times. But you two seem so in love and you only know each other a short time."

Cody grinned. "So? I seem to recall you falling hard rather fast for Todd St. Mark. You and he were a modern day Romeo and Juliet..."

"A modern day who?"

Cody shook his head. "Nevermind. As I remember though, in a short time, you two just knew kind of like how Bailey and I just know. Todd wanted to stay in Boston with you, but you made him go to Zurich. I'm kind of surprised you haven't gone back to try to find him now that you are done with school and on your own..."

London just looked at Cody and thought. "Yeah...why haven't I?"

At that moment, Bailey returned from changing dressed in a tank top, shorts and flip flops. She smiled and handed the bag to Cody. "Your turn."

Cody smiled back, took the bag, and headed off to change himself. Bailey sat back down and noticed London was sitting there deep in thought.

"Are you okay, London?"

London looked up at her. "Huh? Oh...I was just thinking about something." She paused. "Can I ask you something?"

Bailey smiled and nodded. "Of course."

"I've known Cody for almost seven years now. In that time, he's become a real good friend of mine. I know what you're thinking. You probably think I have a ton of friends, and I do. But the number of friends who I know I could really count on if I was in trouble is a very few. Not counting Moseby and other hotel staff, that list would be Maddie, Zack and Cody. They all accepted me for who I was, and my money didn't make any difference to them. So, what I'm trying to say is that I'm trying to look out for Cody and want to make sure you aren't playing him like that other girl was..."

Bailey nodded. "I know all about Barbara, and I understand your concern and appreciate you looking out for Cody. But I'm nothing like her. In fact, what she did makes me sick to my stomach. You see...the same thing happened to me too." She went on to explain helping Cody get rid of Barbara, and how he returned the favor when she found out the same thing happened to her.

London paused. "So...that's why he needed to borrow the plane. I guess my contacts don't know everything then. Well, from what I can tell, Cody really does love you. Do you feel the same about him?"

Bailey smiled. "Yes, I do...I love him with all my heart. I've never met anyone like him before. He's the first person I've ever met who actually gets me, and I get him too..."

"Good. I just want him to be happy. He deserves it. Cody maybe a little different, but he is a good guy."

"Yeah, he is...a great guy." Bailey laughed. "You know...its kind of funny. Cody grew up with you, and my roommate at Yale is an hotel heiress too..."

London looked up at her. "Who?"

"Monica Hilton."

London's eyes went wide. "You know Monica?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, like I said, she's my roommate at Yale."

London paused, grabbed the phone hanging on the side of the cabin and entered a number. Bailey just sat there wondering what was going on. London finally started speaking.

"Monica? London here. I understand there is someone you know that I was hoping to get the 411 on. She says she's your roommate at Yale..." "Says her name is Bailey..." "So, you do know who she is..." Bailey just watched as London listened. And halfway through, London grinned. "Oh really?" "Thanks, Monica...See you in Milan this summer..."

London hung up the phone and smiled at Bailey. "Monica vouches for you. In fact, she told me several things that were interesting. Like how she could tell you and Cody were crazy about each other before either of you were ready to admit it..."

Bailey smiled. "Yeah, she did...She's the one who told me to that I was falling for him when I didn't realize it yet."

London grinned. "And she also told me that she's basically lost her roommate, and Cody has gained one..."

Bailey paused. "Well...ummm...sort of..."

"That's good enough for me...From what she told me, from what Cody's told me and from what I've seen with my own eyes, you have my blessing to date him. I think you're good for him..."

"Thank you..."

"In fact...I have an idea..." London explained her idea, and Bailey could only laugh. By the time she finished, Cody had finally come back out in shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops."

Bailey turned. "You were gone a long time..."

Cody nodded and sighed. "Yeah...I accidentally got my boxers caught in my zipper. I had to extricate them before I could come back out..."

Bailey just laughed. "Enough said..."

The rest of the flight went by rather quickly. At a little after one in the afternoon, they landed in Nassau. And when they exited the plane, the heat and humidity almost smacked them in the face. They were glad they had brought a change of clothes then. London told them she would see them later as she had to go meet her Daddy for lunch, but they could go ahead and check into their cabin.

After getting their bags, a car drove them over to the S.S. Tipton and dropped them off right at the gang plank.

Cody just looked at the ship. "Wow...it looks just like I remember..."

Bailey turned to Cody. "You've been here before?"

"Yeah, Mom, Zack and I spent a week on it before. Mom needed a vacation, and we set it up for her. Of course, we forgot to tell her it would be a working vacation. But, we ended up doing one of her performances for her." He grinned. "And that's the last time I've sang in public..."

Bailey laughed. "I bet you were great..."

Cody smiled. "We were alright. Now, I have to warn you though. The ship's manager wasn't a very nice person, so lets get our cabin key as quickly as possible and get out of there..."

Bailey nodded, and they grabbed their bags and headed up the gang plank. Making their way into the lobby, they walked over to the front desk and rang the bell. The ship's manager came out of the office and over to the desk.

"Can I help you?" But when Cody and Bailey turned around, he jumped. "Cody! What are you doing here?"

Cody just grinned. "Moseby? You're the ship's manager?"

__To be Continued...__


	41. Setting Sail

_Chapter 41_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Marion Moseby was quickly settling into his new position as the manager of the S.S. Tipton. For the last several months, he had quickly realized there was something missing in his life. He had watched everyone around him move on with their lives and find happiness. Esteban was now married and had a baby on the way. And to his surprise, it actually looked like there was something developing between Carey and Arwin. To make matters worse, with London now graduated from high school, she was on her own and living her own life. Neither she nor Wilfred Tipton needed Moseby to constantly keep a close eye on her anymore. And though he was loathe to admit it, he missed his two hooligans. For six years, they had kept him on his toes and made his life interesting. Cody had been the first one to leave for college, but Zack had still been around. But once he moved out and into his own dorm at BC, Marion found his life rather empty. And even they seemed to have found happiness with a special someone. So, when he had been offered the position of manager of the S.S. Tipton, he jumped at it. He had nothing keeping him in Boston any longer. Well, there was his mother, but all she would tell him was that she wished he could be more successful like his two brothers.

So, for a couple of weeks now, he had been on board the ship. And familiarizing himself with everything had kept him very busy. Plus, Wilfred had decided to began a private high school on board the ship the next year, and Moseby was supposed to be interviewing teachers soon. His first appointment was with a woman from Vermont who he thought he remembered her name was Emma something or another. Of course, that Sunday, he had a spring in his step. London was coming on board, and he would get to see her again. And she was bringing a couple of guests with her.

But nothing could have surprised him when he heard the front desk bell ring, and he came out of his office to see one of the Martin twins.

"Cody! What are you doing here?"

Cody just grinned. "Moseby? You're the ship's manager?"

Moseby sighed. "Yes...I am. What in the world are you doing here?"

"We're London's guests. We're here on spring break..."

Moseby plastered a fake smile on his face. "Well...doesn't that just beat all...London told me she was having four guests join her, but she never said who they were..." He paused. "Zack's not going to be joining us, is he?"

Cody shook his head. "Not as far as I know. We just knew of me and Bailey. You remember her from Thanksgiving, don't you?"

Moseby paused to think. "Ahhh...yes, I do now." And from what Moseby remembered, Bailey was actually a really sweet girl. He smiled. "A pleasure to see you again."

Bailey smiled back. "You too, Mr. Moseby."

"Did I hear correctly that you two were now officially an item?"

Bailey nodded. "You sure did. Its been the best months of my life..."

Moseby had to smile. Cody was actually a good kid with a lot of potential. While had been an aggravation to him at times, they had bonded at other times. When the city of Boston wanted to kill him for causing the Red Sox to lose to the Yankees, Cody had stood up and defended him. And they had even commiserated over being upset with the way their older brothers treated them. It was good to seem him happy. "Well, congratulations to you both..." He checked his computer. "I have the reservation London made for you right here." He paused. "She has you both in the same room..." He turned and looked at him.

Cody nodded. "That's right."

Moseby continued looking at him. "I see..."

"No offense, Mr. Moseby, but I am 18 now...and I'm in love. I don't want to spend any time away from Bailey that I don't have to..."

Moseby paused. That was what he was looking for in his life too, so he couldn't begrudge Cody when he had found it for himself. "Very well. Well, here are your keys, and since you are London's guests, everything on the boat is complimentary. Just charge it to your room, and it will be taken care of..."

Cody smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Moseby. I hope you enjoy your new job here. It will be weird not seeing you at the Tipton whenever I'm home."

Moseby smiled. "Thank you. Well, you two have fun and enjoy your stay here on the ship."

After grabbing a luggage cart, Cody and Bailey found the elevator and headed up to the correct level where there was. And once they found it, they opened the door and were completely taken aback when they saw their accommodations. It was a very nice suite with a couple of different rooms including a bedroom with a king size bed.

"Wow..."

Bailey nodded. "I know...All this for us?"

Cody smiled. "I don't think anyone else at school will get a spring break like this."

Bailey smiled. "I know...Its still early. Lets unpack and get settled in."

Cody nodded. "Good idea. Then we can figure out what we want to do then..."

So, they got busy unpacking all of their things. And when they were done, Bailey turned to Cody. "Did London ever mention who her other guests were?"

Cody shook his head. "Not to me. Probably her friend Chelsea though. You remember her from when we did Yay Me! the first time?"

Bailey paused to think. "Oh yeah...And was it just me, or did Moseby not looked to thrilled to see us at first?"

Cody laughed. "Force of habit I think. But for a minute there, I thought he was about to go jump overboard..."

Bailey laughed too. "That would have been awkward...and a little funny. But I get the feeling that deep down, he actually likes you, but he won't ever admit it..."

Cody shrugged. "Maybe...So, what do you want to do first?"

"Why don't we grab our map of the ship and familiar ourselves with hit? Tomorrow is a day at sea, so we'll have an idea of what we want to do then..."

Cody nodded. "Good idea. And I was reading some reviews about the ship. Several people said that it was a good idea to make reservations in the ship's restaurants days in advance if you wanted to actually get in. I say if we see a place we like, we go ahead and make ourselves a reservation."

Bailey smiled. "Good idea. Come on, lets go..."

They left their cabin and began their explorations of the ship. Their first stop was the lido deck. And what they saw, they liked. There was a wave pool and all kinds of water slides. And there was a climbing wall as well as a miniature golf course.

Bailey just grinned. "This place looks like a lot of fun..."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, it does." He grinned back. "Should we add it to our list of things to do?"

"Definitely..." She paused. "Though, I have to admit, the water slides look kind of scary..."

Cody grabbed her hand. "I'll go on them with you. You can hold on as tight as you want..."

Bailey smiled. "I think I can handle that..."

After checking out the lido deck, they continued exploring the rest of the ship. And like Cody suggested, if they saw a restaurant they thought looked good, they made reservations when they could. They even found an interesting place called the Aqua Lounge that they could get into that night, so they booked it. Continuing there explorations, they found themselves up on the skydeck.

"This place looks like a fun place to hang out too."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, it does. Look over there, a smoothie bar. Want to try one?"

Cody smiled. "Yeah, it is kind of warm. I could use a cold drink."

They took seats around the smoothie bar, and they charged two smoothies back to their room. As they were sipping on their drinks, they looked around. At one point, Cody noticed a towel boy picking up used towels and cringed.

"That is one job I would never want to have. Picking up those dirty towels full of other people's sweat and who knows what else..." He shuddered. "What has to happen to make someone take a job like that?

Bailey laughed. "I don't know...but I think the uniform would look good on you..."

Cody smiled. "Maybe...up until Labor Day though. Such a faux pas to wear white after that..."

"Cody, its a cruise ship. I don't think they really care about that..."

Taking their smoothies, they continued walking around and exploring. After a while of seeing interesting places they wanted to revisit later, they came upon an area of the ship that looked like it was under construction.

"Wonder what they are going to do here?"

Bailey looked over and noticed a sign. "Well, the sign says...'Please Excuse the Mess. This is the future home of Seven Seas High, an Upscale Private Educational Experience on the Open Seas'..."

Cody paused. "Huh...That sounds fascinating. Imagine getting to study oceanography out on the ocean..."

Bailey smiled. "I know...I wish it had been around when I was in high school. I would have applied..."

Cody smiled back at her. "Me too." He stopped to think. "Imagine if we had. I might have met you a whole lot sooner than I did..."

"Yeah, that would have been amazing. We would have been rid of Moose and Barbara that much sooner and together a lot longer..."

Cody turned to her. "I would have fallen for you when I was 15 instead of when I was 18..."

"Same here. Imagine getting to explore the world together..."

Cody smiled again. "We still can someday."

Bailey smiled back. "Yeah?"

"Definitely..."

"I'll look forward to that..."

Cody leaned in and kissed here. "Consider it done..."

Bailey grinned. "Good..." She checked her watch. "Wow...I can't believe its already seven o'clock. Our reservation is in a half hour."

"Lets get going then..."

They made their way back to the Aqua Lounge, and once they got to the front desk, they were both surprised that they were asked to show ID. But the hostess explained that at night, only persons 18 and over were allowed inside unless accompanied by an adult. Both just shrugged and followed the hostess to their table.

After reviewing the menu, both placed their orders. And as they did, Cody noticed a waitress carrying two smoothies on a tray. He looked up at the waitress. "And can we get two of those? They're really good." He pointed to the drinks on the tray. The waitress just smiled and nodded.

Bailey smiled. "Liked the first one that much, huh?"

Cody smiled back. "Well, we're in the tropics, I say we get tropical..."

Bailey laughed. "I like the way you think."

Their dinner was delicious, and they each had three more smoothies during dinner. But as they were having dessert, both realized they were feeling a little funny.

"Bails...I feel kind of strange..."

"Me too...Its like I'm having trouble focusing and I feel lightheaded..."

Cody nodded. "Same here..." He shook his head trying to focus his vision.

At that moment, the waitress stopped by again. "Can I get you another round of daiquiris?"

Cody and Bailey's eyes both went wide and they just looked at each other.

__To be Continued...__


	42. Sea Sickness

_Chapter 42_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other in surprise.

Cody was crestfallen. "They were daiquiris? I thought they were regular smoothies. I'm so sorry, Bails. I had no idea..."

Bailey smiled and was about to say something when she hiccuped. With that, both began to laugh. "Don't worry about it, Cody. I thought they were smoothies too. I guess never really having alcohol before, I didn't realize there was any in them..."

Cody smiled. "Me either. Most I ever had was a sip of my Dad's beer when I was a kid. At the time, I didn't see what the fuss was all about. I didn't particularly care for the taste..."

"I know what you mean...you remember me telling you about my Great Uncle Wilbur?"

Cody paused. "Was he the one who would sip the cranberry moonshine, and the parade floats would freak him out?"

Bailey just smiled that he remembered. "That's the one. Well, one year, he left it out, and my curiosity got the best of me. I tried it, but immediately regretted it. I thought I had been drinking paint thinner, and immediately, I got sick..."

Cody frowned. "Are you feeling okay right now?"

Bailey nodded. "Actually, I feel really good. My motor functions have definitely decreased a little bit, but no slurred speech or trouble keeping my eyes open yet..."

Cody laughed. "Same here...but things seem a whole lot funnier than normal..."

Bailey grinned. "I know what you mean. I guess we know why they carded us now. Drinking age in non-US territories is only 18." She paused. "Is it bad that I actually liked those?"

Cody shook his head. "No...but it might be bad that I do too. Not exactly the most manly of drinks..."

Bailey laughed. "I think you're allowed to while in the tropics...kind of like wearing white."

Cody laughed again. "Duly noted. Well, what should we do now?"

Bailey paused to think. "Well, we're on vacation. I say we have some more fun. There's several dance clubs on the boat, and I say we hit up one of them."

Cody nodded. "Sounds good to me..." He grinned. "Are we cut off, or should we get one for the road?"

Bailey grinned. "Well, we do have our own cabin a few floors away, and we don't have to drive or go anywhere. I say when in Rome..."

Cody grinned. "Or when in the Caribbean, have fun, mon?"

Bailey laughed. "Exactly! I mean, we are Biology majors. Why not do our own experiment on the effects of alcohol on the system in a controlled environment..." She grinned again. "Besides, we can each get one of those long tube things that people are carrying..."

"Well, in the interests of science, I say we go for it..." He grinned again. "And lets each try a different flavor and we can share!"

"I like it! You get lime, and I'll get banana..."

So, for the next 30 minutes or so, Cody and Bailey walked around the decks, soaking up the fresh ocean air and sharing their yards with each other. Unfortunately for them, these two drinks were the ones that kind of put them over the edge. By the time they finished those, everything the other said was hysterical. And they were both leaning on each other when they would stumble or lose their balance.

"Bails?"

"Yeah, Codykins?"

He started laughing. "I think were both bypassed intoxication and gone straight to drunk..."

Bailey giggled. "I think you're right...Should we head back to the room?"

Cody paused. "I guess we could, but I want to dance with my beautiful girlfriend..."

"Then lets go dance!"

And so they did. They found a dance club, and after getting carded again, they were inside. Once inside, they had finished their yards, and the bartender offered to refill them. Cody and Bailey's common sense had been impaired, and they just shrugged. And when he handed them back, they both tried them and looked up.

"What are these?"

"Yours is a regular lime margarita, and the lady's is a strawberry margarita."

Cody and Bailey just shrugged again and began sipping their new drinks. At the same time, both really wanted to sit down, so they did. Once again, they shared their drinks, and before long, both were empty. Bailey turned to Cody and blinked a few times to get her bearings.

"Codykins?"

"Yeah, Bails..."

"I think I'm cut off now...My stomach's not feeling too well..."

Cody swallowed. "I think I'm right there with you...I think we learned a lesson tonight..."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah...moderation."

"Yeah, and we avoid this stuff at all costs while school is in session...Lets make sure in future experiments, we don't use ourselves as test subjects..."

"Agreed." Bailey felt her stomach churning again. "Uh oh..."

"Lets go out and get some fresh air. Maybe that will help?"

Bailey just nodded, and they both helped each other up. Holding on to the other for balance, they made their way back out of the club and out onto one of the decks. Both grabbed on to the railing, and leaned themselves against it. Taking deep breaths, both were trying to calm their constantly rumbling stomachs. But gradually, they were feeling a little bit better as the urge to throw up was now passing. They made their way over to a deck chair and sank into it together.

Cody sighed. "Okay...here's the plan...We sit here and build up our strength again. Once we do, we head back for our cabin where we can pass out where we fall..."

Bailey nodded. "Good plan..."

They were just lying there trying to sober up some when another couple walked past them. However the other couple stopped and came back.

"Cody?"

He opened his eyes and tried to focus his vision. When he was finally able to, he shook his head. "Maddie?"

Maddie grinned at him. "What are you doing here?"

"At the moment...not feeling too hot." He hiccuped and slurred his words. "Maddie, this is the love of my life, Bailey. Bails, this is Maddie. I've told you all about her. And the guy with her is...I have no idea..."

Bailey just nodded while trying not to let herself get sick. "Nice to meet you..."

Maddie just looked at them funny. "Are you two alright?" She paused and her eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! You're both drunk!"

Cody nodded. "Yup...We were drinking what we thought was smoothies at dinner that turned out to be daiquiris. By the time we figured that out, the damage was done, so we went with it..."

Maddie just began laughing. "Of all the things I thought I'd never see, Cody Martin blitzed out of his mind was near the top of the list..."

Cody sighed. "Don't get used to the sight..."

"I sure hope not. Let me guess. You two are London's other two guests on the boat, huh?"

Cody just nodded.

Maddie smiled. "Well, I'm not sure if in your current condition you remember, but this is my fiance, Trevor..."

Trevor laughed. "Wait! He was one of the little blond twins at the hotel?"

Maddie nodded. "Yeah. You know, we should get them coffee ASAP. Come on, lets get them to the coffee house down the way.

Maddie and Trevor helped them stand up and helped walk them down the deck to the coffee house. Then, they proceeded to almost pour coffee down both of their throats until they both began sobering up more and more. Maddie just smiled. "Feeling better?"

Cody nodded. "A little. Again, I want to introduce you to my girlfriend, Bailey."

Bailey nodded again. "Nice to finally meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances..."

Maddie laughed. "Don't worry about it. I'm assuming you're on spring break. You wouldn't be true college students if you didn't overdo it at least once. So, where did you two meet?"

Bailey tried to focus on her coffee cup. "I hope you'll excuse the short version. On our first day at Yale. The driver from the airport just dropped me off with all my bags and just left me there. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I looked up and there was Cody offering to help me out. From that day on, we became close friends. And along the way, we well in love, but didn't admit it to each other until New Year's Eve."

Maddie grinned. "I leave, and all the fun things happen."

Bailey swallowed. "I really do hope you allow me to make a better second impression..."

"Don't worry about it. I've know Cody for a long time. If he calls you the love of his life, then you must be pretty special...when you're sober."

Bailey had to laugh at that. "Thanks..."

Maddie paused and turned back to Cody. "How's Zack doing?"

Cody smiled. "He's doing great. He took a semester off, but he's now at BC. And he's dating a girl who's perfect for him. I don't know how she does it, but she has him wrapped around her little finger and getting him to do things that Mom and I never could have imagined. I think he's really grown up in the past year."

Maddie smiled too. "Good. I'm happy to hear that he's doing so well." She paused. "I was kind of worried..."

"Don't be. He loves his life right now and wouldn't change a thing."

"What about you? Would you change anything?"

Cody paused. "Other than going back a few hours and saying no to that first drink?"

Maddie laughed. "Yeah...other than that."

Cody turned to look at Bailey. "Not a thing..." He smiled. "I love my life right now too..."

Bailey smiled back at him. "Me too..." Both leaned in and kissed each other. Maddie and Trevor just laughed as they watched them begin to make out in front of t hem. Finally, Maddie cleared her throat.

"Remember us?"

"Sorry..." Cody shook his head. "Have you seen Moseby yet?"

Maddie was surprised. "He's here?"

"He's the new manager of the ship. He got promoted."

"I should go say hello...but I think we should keep an eye on you two for a while just to be on the safe side."

Bailey shook her head. "No need. I think we're good enough to head back to our cabin right now. Once back there, all bets are off..." Bailey paused. "We'd like it if you two would join us for dinner tomorrow night. I promise we'll be much better company."

Maddie smiled. "Sounds good. You two sure you're okay?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah...I thinking I'm catching my second wind..."

Maddie and Trevor said goodbye, and they agreed to meet the next evening in the Coral Room for dinner. Cody and Bailey made their way to the elevator, and amazingly got off on the right floor. And even more surprisingly, they actually found their cabin. Once inside, both kicked off their flip flops.

"Much better now..."

Cody sat down on the bed. "You're telling me..." He paused and shook his head. "You know that second wind I caught?"

"Uh huh..."

"There it goes..." And with that, Cody fell back and passed out.

Bailey laughed. "Awwww..." But before she could say anything else, she got dizzy herself. Next thing she knew, she was passing out right next to him.

_To be Continued..._


	43. The Hangover

_Chapter 43_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The next morning, the sun shined in through the porthole and landed right on Cody's face. He winced and slowly opened his eyes. And that's when he was bombarded with a throbbing in his head and the realization that his mouth had a horrid taste in it. He looked over and saw Bailey was still asleep, so he crawled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. After heeding nature's calling, he grabbed his dop kit and pulled out his bottle of of Tylenol and poured two glasses of water. He was halfway back out of the bathroom when turned around, grabbed his bottle of mouthwash and began gargling. And he almost swallowed it when he heard a voice next to him.

"I need a swig of that too..."

He looked over and saw a very disheveled Bailey standing next to him. He offered her the bottle, and they stood side by side and gargled. When they spit it out, Cody handed her a couple of Tylenol and the glass of water.

"Here...I think this will help..."

Bailey nodded, and took the caplets. Once she did, she turned to Cody. "What were we thinking yesterday?"

Cody just shook his head. "I have absolutely no idea. But if I ever have the urge to do anything like that again, just smack me..."

"Same here..." She paused. "I think I had a dream where we met your old friend Maddie and her fiance..."

"Bails, I don't think that was a dream or else I had it too. I think we're supposed to have dinner with them tonight."

Bailey sighed. "Great...I'm sure I made a wonderful first impression..."

Cody wrapped his arm around her waist. "I wouldn't worry about it. I think I remember her laughing quite a bit. Maddie is really cool. Besides, she'll get to meet you again tonight and see just how wonderful you really are..."

Bailey had a small smile on her face. "Thanks. What time is it, anyways?"

Cody checked the clock by the bed. "Its a little before ten. And I'm starving. How about we get cleaned up and changed and hit the brunch buffet. I think some food in our systems would do us good."

"Good call..." She paused. "Why don't we change into our bathing suits and hit the ledo deck afterwards? If we are still tired, we can at least lay out and get some sun. Besides, we're at sea all day today before we get to Puerto Rico tomorrow."

Cody nodded. "Sounds good to me."

By eleven AM, both were changed into their swimsuits and clothes over them. After grabbing a small bag with bottles of water, sunscreen and other various items, they headed out. And they were right. Getting food into their stomachs actually did make them feel better. So, they almost had their usual springs back in their steps as they got up to the lido deck. Looking around, they found a couple of lounge chairs by the edge of the wave pool and grabbed two towels to lay on them. They stripped down to their swimsuits, and tucked everything else back into their bag.

"What do you say? Sun or swim?"

Bailey paused. "I say we hit the wave pool. But lets hold off on the water slides until our stomachs are completely settled."

"Works for me..." He paused. "Ummm...Bails, would you help put sunscreen on my back?"

She smiled. "Of course...as long as you return the favor..."

He smiled back. "It would be my pleasure..."

Getting out the sunscreen from their bag, they took turns coating the other head from toe. Of course, they made sure to get easily forgotten places like the face, neck and back of the knees. Once they were done, they took each other's hand and began wading into the wave pool. And both were just enjoying the soothing feeling of the warm water.

"I could do this all day..."

Cody smiled. "Just wait for the waves to start...Don't take them lightly."

And no sooner had he said that, a horn sounded. A large mechanical noise started, and waves began forming in the pool. Bailey gasped as one crashed down on top of her and temporarily submerged her. She popped back up spitting water out of her mouth and rubbing water out of her eyes.

Cody just grinned. "I told you to watch out for the waves..."

"Oh, you did, huh? Maybe you're the one who should watch out now!" She dove and tackled Cody right as another wave crashed into them. This time, it was both of them spitting out water.

"So, that's how its going to be, huh?"

Cody dove under the water, and Bailey soon found two hands circling around her pulling her under the water. When Bailey re-emerged, she looked over at a grinning Cody.

"I can't believe you did that!"

"Uh huh...This coming from the person who tackled me first?"

Bailey smiled. "Uh huh...You know, this is much better than playing in the snow. I don't have to worry frostbite..."

Cody smiled right back. "Then you won't mind me doing this..." He dove back under a wave and grabbed Bailey under the water again. This time he pulled her under with him, and held her underwater with him. Instead of releasing her and heading back to the surface, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. And she returned the kiss as passionately as she could until they literally had to break apart to get air. Once they resurfaced, Bailey just looked at him and grinned.

"I've heard of wet kisses before, but I don't think that's what they had in mind..."

Cody grinned back. "And usually your kisses take my breath away, but that was taking it to extremes..."

Bailey was about to say something when they felt themselves getting splashed. Both turned and found a little girl splashing them.

"Hey! What was that for?"

The little girl laughed. "Because you were kissing a boy! That's icky!"

Cody laughed. "Oh, I'm icky, huh?" He began splashing back at her, and soon there was an all out splash fight going on. And it lasted for almost fifteen minutes before the little girl slipped and went down to her knee. And she began crying. Immediately, Cody and Bailey stopped splashing and went over to her. Bailey knelt down next to her.

"What's wrong?"

The girl was wiping away her tears. "My knee hurts! I scraped it on the bottom of the pool!"

Bailey looked up at Cody and he nodded. He picked her up and carried her out of the pool and sat her on one of their lounge chairs. And as he was doing that, Bailey was going through their little bag. She found the antiseptic spray and a band-aid. While she was doing that, Cody was kneeling down in front of the girl.

"Hurts, huh? I used to scrape my knees up all the time too. And they were never any fun." He smiled. "My name's Cody, and this is Bailey, and Bailey is going to help boo boo feel better very soon. Will you let us help you?"

The girl just nodded and sniffed as Bailey knelt down next to her too. Cody smiled. "While Bailey is doing what needs to be done. I won't lie, it might sting a little bit, but I know you can handle it. What's your name?"

The girl sniffled. "I'm Abby..."

Cody smiled. "Abby. That's a very pretty name. So, how old are you, Abby?"

"I'm five..." As she was answering, Bailey sprayed on the antiseptic, and the girl cringed.

Cody tried to keep her focus. "I know it burns right now, but its helping clean up your boo boo and keep it from getting infected. We don't want that at all. And if its burning right now, that just means its working. So, Abby, tell me what you like to do for fun. Do you like riding bikes?"

Abby just nodded as she frowned.

"Me too. I used to have to share a bike with my brother, but I used to love to ride it in the park. I bet you do too..." He glanced down and noticed Bailey was applying the band-aid. "And guess what? Bailey's done with your boo boo now..."

Abby looked over at Bailey. "You are?"

Bailey smiled. "I sure am, Sweetheart. Does it feel better?"

"Yeah, it does..."

"Good. Glad we could help..." She grinned. "Am I forgiven for kissing an icky boy?"

Abby laughed. "I guess so...He's not so bad...for a boy." And with that, Abby got up and ran off.

Cody just shook his head and laughed. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment..."

She teased him. "Well, she is right. You aren't so bad...for a boy." Bailey smiled. "Nice bedside manner, Dr. Martin..."

Cody smiled back. "You too, Dr. Pickett. You're going to make one heck of a pediatrician. And when you're ready, a great Mom too..."

"And you'll make a great Dad. And after the way you soothed her, you'd be a good pediatrician too if you so chose to be..."

"Thanks..." He teased her. "So, was I being overly cautious now for packing the first aid kit with us?"

Bailey shook her head. "Okay, okay...It was actually a good idea..."

He paused. "Abby...You know, I kind of like that name."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, me too."

Cody shrugged. "Well, I think that sobered me up finally. How about we just lay back for a while and get some sun?"

"Sounds good...as long as you help me add another coat of sunscreen..."

Cody grinned. "Like you had to ask..."

The rest of the afternoon, they alternated laying out with more fun in the wave pool. They even tried one of the slides, and Bailey held on to Cody for dear life. But, she absolutely loved it, and they ended up going on it a few more times. Finally, about five that afternoon, they realized they needed to get back up to their cabin and get cleaned up before they met Maddie and Trevor. And they decided to go a little more dressed up for dinner as Bailey dawned a summer dress and sandals while Cody was in a polo shirt, khaki shorts and boat shoes. By seven o'clock, they were waiting outside the Coral Room when Maddie and Trevor walked up and joined them.

Maddie laughed. "Well, you two really are here. We weren't sure you'd remember..."

Cody shook his head. "Yeah...Last night was not one of our finest moments..."

Bailey nodded. "Exactly. I hope neither of you will judge me for one night's stupidity."

Maddie smiled. "Don't worry about it. When I first had alcohol, I didn't handle it well either. In fact, I have parts of that night that I don't remember...and others I wish I didn't."

Trevor laughed. "But I do, and I have pictures to prove it..."

Maddie sighed. "He loves reminding me of that fact..."

Cody grinned. "Don't worry about it. While we were in Boston, Bailey wanted to see every picture of me growing up. And to my surprise and relief, she's still here with me..."

Bailey grinned too. "Why wouldn't I be? He was and is adorable..."

Maddie smiled. "I still remember the day they showed up at the hotel..." She shook her head. "And now they're all grown up in college and with girlfriends all their own. I feel so old right now..."

Trevor laughed. "Well, why don't we head inside. I feel so hungry right now..."

So, they did. And they sat around catching up with each other even more. Cody and Bailey even retold many of the stories they had told the night before, but were able to give a whole lot more details. Of course, Maddie felt a little protective of Cody and really wanted to get to know Bailey. And everything she saw and learned, she really liked. And so did Bailey. Both ladies realized they could be really good friends if they were around the other more often. And Maddie could definitely sense there was a high level of adoration and love between Cody and Bailey. She could only smile seeing Cody so happy.

"So, what are your plans for the next couple of days?"

Cody turned to Bailey. "Well, tomorrow, we'll be in San Juan. I think we wanted to look around the city in the morning, but then just relax on the beach in the afternoon. The next day is another day at sea, but I have to do an episode of Yay Me! at some point..."

Maddie just looked at him. "You still doing that show? I thought you would have quit by now..."

Cody smiled. "I did, but I have to make a special guest appearance. I made a deal with London. Its kind of why she brought us with her down here..."

Bailey smiled too. "And he's doing it because of me..." She briefly explained how Cody came to her aid over Christmas break and how he got to Kettlecorn by striking a deal with London. "So, he did that for me, so I'm going to be there with him no matter what she puts him through..."

Maddie nodded. "Well, good luck with that. That's the thing about London...you never know exactly what she's going to do..."

_To be Continued..._

**AN: This will be my only posting tonight. Was swamped today relearning the Rule Against Perpetuities.**** And no, you don't want to know what it is. I'll try to be back tomorrow with a chapter of one of the dueling stories. Anyways, there is good news - there is now a Mello Yello Zero! Yes, its the small things in life right now that make me happy LOL**_  
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	44. The Green Mile

_Chapter 44_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After dinner, everyone headed back to the same dance club Cody and Bailey had attempted to go to the night before. But this time, the strongest drink either of them had was a Coke Zero on the rocks. But, they actually had a lot of fun anyways. They danced, and they took breaks when they needed them. And while they rested, they continued getting to know each other. Cody filled Maddie in on more of the people from the Tipton and what they were doing now. And she was as surprised as anyone that Carey and Arwin might actually be dating. At one point, the topic of the conversation shifted to Maddie and Trevor's wedding, and Cody began laughing.

"You know, I still think its crazy that you two are going to be married. Maddie, you're as liberal as they come while you told us Trevor has an alter built to Ronald Reagan..."

Maddie laughed. "I know, but sometimes you can't help yourself..."

Trevor smiled. "Aren't you two the same way? I mean, Bailey is from the land of Bob Dole while Cody is from the land of the Kennedy Clan..."

Bailey smiled. "I admit, I do have to very conservative views on some topics like family values and in some instances, Economics, but in other areas, I'm actually quite liberal. I'm all for protecting the environment, and I'm against any law that discriminates against someone based on sex, race, national origin, age or sexual orientation. I believe in doing what's right for everyone and not picking on someone because they aren't what is considered 'normal'..."

Cody smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He looked over at Maddie. "I know what you mean about not being able to help yourself..."

Maddie laughed. "I can see that, but you two are opposites in a lot of ways. The city boy and the country girl for starters."

"I'll have you know I've spent time on the farm...and I was completely useless..."

Bailey shook her head. "Don't listen to him. He cooked dinner one night, and after that, he was golden with my family. Besides, it was in the middle of winter. Not much for him to do and be useless at. And despite what he says, I was way worse getting use to city life. Traffic in Boston and New York about freaked me out..."

This time Cody shook his head. "Now its time not to listen to her. Within a day, she fit right in. Plus, she speaks several languages, so she won't get taken advantage of by cab drivers. Besides, speaking of families, I think Mom likes her better than she does me..."

Maddie laughed. "Don't have to tell me about that. If you're good with a guy's Mom, everything will be smooth sailing..."

Trevor laughed too. "Just the opposite with us. It took a while for Maddie's Dad to come around on me..."

Cody nodded. "I think Bailey's Dad likes me..."

Bailey interrupted him. "He does..."

"But I got 'the speech'..."

Trevor nodded and laughed. "We all have. I even got one from Maddie's little brother. And somewhere down the road, we'll be giving it to some kid trying to date our daughters."

Maddie spoke up. "Before I forget, you are coming to the wedding this summer, right?"

Cody smiled. "Of course...Is it too late for me to add a plus one and bring Bailey with me?"

Maddie smiled. "Of course it isn't. I would be offended if you didn't bring her with you. And tell Zack to bring his girlfriend too. I'd like to meet her as well and see with my own eyes the girl who finally tamed Zack..."

After a while, it got late, and Cody and Bailey were getting tired. Swimming and lounging around all day had wore them out, so about midnight, they bid goodnight to Maddie and Trevor and headed back to their cabin. Both changed for bed and got comfortable in each other's arms. But something Maddie had said was weighing heavily on Bailey's mind.

"Cody?"

He opened his eyes. "Yeah?"

Bailey turned to face him. "Maddie's wedding will be this summer. We've never talked about what happens this summer. I assume you're going back to Boston, and I'll be going back to Kettlecorn..."

Cody thought about that and sighed. "That does pose a problem, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does...How do we go from seeing each other 24/7 to not seeing each other for almost four months?"

Cody paused to think. "Well, we'll have our phones, so we can talk everyday. And our laptops have webcams, so we can use those. But neither one of those will be remotely the same as holding you in my arms or being able to kiss you..."

Bailey frowned. "I know..."

"Well, Maddie is getting married the weekend after the fourth of July, so you could come up to Boston for a week. Of course, you'd stay with us..."

Bailey nodded. "True...And the Mulch Festival is in early June. I'd love it if you could come to Kettlecorn for it..."

Cody smiled. "Consider it done. I may have to make a fool of myself on Yay Me! again, but I'll be there..."

Bailey smiled back at him. "You'd really do that for me?"

"Of course I would. And look at it this way. We'll still be together through early May, then I'll visit you in Kettlecorn in June, you'll visit me in Boston in July, and then in August it will be time for us to go back to school again. You can even come back to Boston early again if you want..."

"Will once a month be enough for us though?"

Cody smiled again. "Not for me. I'll never get enough of you. But, we'll do the best we can. Besides, it will give me the chance to write you actual love letters..."

Bailey smiled. "I like the sound of that. Something I can keep and read over and over when I'm missing you."

"Well, we will still be able to see each other over the internet. You'll probably still see me enough that you'll be sick of me..."

"Never..."

"Besides, I do already have a summer job lined up. I'm working in a clinic down the street from the hotel. In addition to making money to supplement the scholarship stipend I have, I read where medical schools love seeing work experience in the medical field. Plus, you need a doctor to recommend you."

Bailey nodded. "I know. Doc Johnson agreed for me to come work for him this summer for the same reasons..."

Cody smiled. "And once the summer's over, we'll be back at Yale. And I'll request my same room again. We'll move your things in the first day, and then we'll be together again like we are now..."

Bailey smiled back. "I like the sound of that. I'm sure Monica will like having a room to herself again."

Cody pulled her into his arms. "I know this summer will suck. But, I think it will make us stronger in the end. You know the old saying...absence makes the heart grow fonder...and I'm already really fond of you as it is."

Bailey smiled. "I know...I'll probably be insufferable for the first couple of days home without you there with me..."

"Well, you're here with me right now. I say we enjoy every moment we have here on the ship were we have nothing to do but focus on each other..."

Bailey leaned up and kissed him. "I always knew you were smart..."

The next morning, they were up bright and early. They grabbed a quick breakfast and were off the boat by 8:00 AM. Before leaving for the trip, they had planned out everything they wanted to see in San Juan. And after a a full morning of seeing plazas, museums, gardens and everything else they wanted to see, they returned to the boat for lunch and to change into their swimsuits. At about one that afternoon, they were back off the boat and on their way to the beach.

To Cody, the beach was fun, but he had been to one before. He had even spent time frolicking on the beach in southern California with Zack, Maddie, London, his Mom and Moseby. But to Bailey, it was her first time on one. Kansas was a thousand miles from the closest coast. So, when they arrived, she just stopped to take everything in. Cody noticed this and smiled.

"Take your time."

Bailey turned to him and smiled back. "Just never been this close to one before..."

"Why don't we go get a closer look?"

Bailey nodded, and they made their way out onto the sand. Finding a spot, they opened up the bag with them and rolled out the beach blanket they rented from the boat. Once it was out, they both again stripped down to their swimsuits. And once again, they helped each other apply sunscreen. And as he was rubbing her back, Cody spoke up.

"You know, in just a couple of days, you're already getting a nice tan..."

Bailey turned and smiled. "You too..."

Cody laughed. "At least London can't say we have pasty skin this time..."

Bailey laughed too. "I know, and I think your hair has been sun bleached and is even blonder..."

"Well, I see some blonde highlights in yours now too. So, what do you think? Lay out and get more sun or go try out Mother Nature's wave pool?"

"I say we go try the ocean. I mean, have you ever seen water that blue before?"

For the rest of the afternoon, they alternated playing in the ocean and laying out and getting more sun. They even spent some time building a sand castle. But knowing those two, the modeled it after the Palace of Wurttemberg in Germany, and it was as close to a perfect replica as they could get from looking at pictures on their smart phones.

Cody turned to Bailey. "You know...Einstein was born just steps from this place."

She smiled. "I know."

When the sun began to set, both slipped their clothes back on and packed up their things back into their bag. After catching a cab back to the boat, they returned to their cabin to get cleaned up. Even though the day on the beach had been fun, they soon discovered they had sand in places that weren't very comfortable. Once changed back into casual clothes, they went out for dinner again. And after dinner, they just took it easy. For a long time, they just laid in a deck chair together looking at the stars. Of course, they did share more than a few kisses.

Tuesday morning arrived, and the ship was back at sea again. They were both looking forward to their next stop – Philipsburg, St. Maarten, but it was still a day away. So, they spent the day like they had their first day at sea – on the lido deck. This time, they spent a lot of time in an inner tube built for two and circling the lazy river. Of course, they did engage in a very competitive game of mini golf that ended up tied after 18 holes. Well, with the competitive juices flowing, they needed a way to break the tie. So, they headed up to the skydeck and found a dart board. The ensuing slaughter was not pretty. Bailey completely destroyed him in a rout. Of course, Cody got his payback in the ships game room. Seems years of hanging out with Zack in the hotel's game room finally paid off, and Cody returned the rout in a game of foosball.

Both decided that a record of 1-1-1 was good enough for them as they didn't want to let their competitiveness cause problems. So, instead, they teamed up in doubles ping pong and shuffleboard and took on all comers.

But they had to cut their fun for the evening short as they had somewhere else they had to be. So, after cleaning up and changing, they found themselves knocking on the door to the largest suite on the boat. When the door opened, London pulled them both inside.

"We have to hurry! I have plans for later, so lets get this done and over with. Cody, start getting everything set up!"

Reluctantly, he did with help from Bailey, but he felt like he was walking his own green mile. Once they had it set up, they turned to London. "Ready when you are..."

London grinned. "Almost..." She walked over and grabbed two garment bags. "You two need to change!"

Cody shook his head. "Do what you want with me, but leave Bailey out of this. I made the deal with you, not her..."

London was about to say something when Bailey put her hand on Cody's shoulder. "No, I'll do it. Remember, we said all of our adventures now, we'd do together. This is no different."

"You sure?"

Bailey smiled. "Positive..."

London rolled her eyes. "Good, now get changed. I'll start without you..."

Cody and Bailey went to separate dressing rooms, and London began.

"Welcome to Yay Me! Starring London Tipton! I'm London Tipton! This is a special episode coming to you live from the S.S. Tipton sailing through the Caribbean. Also, its my special spring fashion episode, and I have two volunteers you all might remember to model a few things for you..."

In his dressing room, Cody unzipped his bag and was absolutely shocked with what he found. "Is she serious?"

London continued on with her show. "Alright, you've all seen my new dress. Lets look at our two models. First up is my old producer, Cody. Cody, come out here!"

The door to his dressing room opened, and Cody stepped out. But instead of being dressed in something humiliating, he was wearing a tailor fitted tuxedo and looked quite dashing. He still wasn't sure what was going on and was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"London, I don't understand..."

London cut him off though. "And our other model, Cody's girlfriend...Bailey..."

Bailey stepped out of her dressing room. And Cody's eyes nearly popped out of his head. She was wearing the most elegant while sexiest black dress he had ever seen. His voice almost left him.

"Wow..."

Bailey smiled back at him. "Ditto..."

London continued. "Cody is wearing the newest Armani tuxedo for spring 2012, and Bailey is wearing an one of a kind Arturo Vitali original. And the best thing about it? Its sparkly!"

_To be Continued..._


	45. The New Wardrobes

_Chapter 45_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody and Bailey just stood there looking at each other, both unable to take their eyes off of the other. Bailey always thought Cody was handsome, but seeing him dressed in a tuxedo? She definitely approved. She had seen him dressed in a suit before and thought he looked amazing, but this was taking it to a whole another level. On the other hand, Cody couldn't help looking Bailey up and down. The dress she wore was like nothing he had ever seen before, and it was a vision he would not be forgetting any time soon. In his opinion, there just weren't words to describe how beautiful she looked. But, he wasn't the only one who was speechless as all either could do was look. But London was talking enough for everyone. Or at least they thought she was. Neither one was really focusing on anything she was saying. And if she hadn't tapped them on the shoulders and startled them out of their reveries, they would have stood there all afternoon.

"Hello?"

Cody shook his head and turned to London. He looked at her in confusion. "London, I don't understand. I thought you were going to put me in heels or put make up on me again..."

London shrugged. "Ehhh...What fun would that be? I mean, its like you said, Bailey was going to stand by you anyways. If I embarrassed you, what purpose would it serve? She's going to love you anyways. Besides, I thought this was a much better idea, and told Bailey as much..."

Cody whipped his head around to Bailey. "You knew about this?"

She smiled. "Well, sort of but not really. She told me she had a new idea, but I had no idea this is what she had in mind..."

London checked her watch. "Well, I have to go. I have a date."

Cody's eyebrows raised. "With who?"

London smiled. "A certain future dentist...He's flying in for a few days."

Cody smiled back. "Good luck..." He paused. "When should we get these outfits back to you?"

London shrugged. "You don't. They're yours now. Besides, there is a reservation for two for you tomorrow night at the best restaurant in St. Maarten, and its a definite black tie kind of place..."

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other in surprise. "But London...we're just poor college students. We can't afford a place like that."

London rolled her eyes. "Its in the Tipton Resort on the island. Everything is taken care of. Heck, take your new outfits with you in the morning and drop it off there, and they will hold it for you. They'll even let you borrow a suite to get cleaned up in. Now, I really have to be going..." And with that, London left.

Cody shook his head. "Okay...totally did not see this coming. I was expecting to walk out of here with blush and rouge...not Armani."

"I knew she was planning something, but I never would have imagined this..." Bailey started laughing. "I now have a dress worth more than the rest of my wardrobe combined..."

Cody laughed too. "Same here..." He stepped in front of a mirror. "Huh...I do look good in a tux though. I should wear one of these more often..."

Bailey smiled. "Yeah, you look amazing in it. But we should probably get out of these and keep them fresh for tomorrow night..."

Cody nodded. "You're right..." He paused and looked at Bailey one more time. "I just want to take a few more mental photographs of you in that dress. You got to see the pictures you wanted to see, and now I have one I want to see over and over..."

Fifteen minutes later, they were both back in their regular clothes again with their formal wear back in the bags. And when Bailey walked out of her dressing room, Cody smiled and whistled.

"Wow..."

Bailey shook her head. "But I took the dress off..."

"So? Doesn't mean I like the view any less..."

She just smiled. "Come on, lets get these back to our cabin. We still have some time to waste this afternoon. I saw where there was a laser tag area. You up for a round?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah, lets do it."

So, that's what they did. Of course, one round let to a best of five. And they had to forcibly make themselves stop in the middle of the fifth game or they would miss their reservations for dinner that night at the ships seafood restaurant. And as they sat across the table from each other, Cody was deep in thought. Of course, Bailey noticed.

"What's on your mind?"

"I was just realizing how competitive we are..."

Bailey smiled. "I know. We're pretty even competitors, don't you think?"

"I know, and while I enjoy having someone who I can go toe to toe with, part of me is a little worried..."

Bailey's smile quickly evaporated. "Why?"

"I just don't want our competitions to get in the way of us. Bails, I love competing with you. I finally have someone who can challenge me on all levels. But I don't want us to fall into a pattern of trying to one up the other in everything. You're the first person in my life that I've ever found to be my equal in everything. I don't want a stupid struggle for dominance in some inconsequential activity to cause us problems..."

Bailey paused to consider that. "I can see what you mean. You're the first person I've found too that is my equal in so many things. Its human nature to try gain the dominant hand in situations like that. And I don't want that either. I like how we're equal partners."

"So do I..."

She smiled. "How about this? We still compete with each other in games like these, but we have a safe word that if one of us thinks the other is going to far with something, we say it and stop what we're doing."

Cody smiled. "I like it. What's our word?"

Bailey paused to think. "How about daiquiri? A word that won't come up in our everyday lives, and its kind of a reminder not to be stupid again..."

Cody nodded. "I like it...Its very appropriate."

The next morning, they were up early again and off the boat into St. Maarten. The first stop was the Tipton resort. After waiting at the front desk, they explained to the manager what London had told them, and he immediately smiled and nodded. He took there garment bags and hung them up in his own office for them to get later. Once done, he handed them a note left for them by London.

_Cody & Bailey,_

_Don't think I haven't noticed how you two have worn the same swimsuits everyday. If you are going to be my guests, I expect you to look the part. Head over the the ships boutique and get yourselves a couple more for the rest of your trip. I've asked for a couple to be set aside for you, but they may not be your style. But, for the love all of things sparkly, get at least two a piece!_

_London_

Cody and Bailey looked at each other and shrugged. While they were happy with what they had, London was their host for their trip. So, they decided to just do what she asked. When they got into the boutique, they showed the salesperson London's note, and she smiled. Immediately, she showed them what London had set out.

When Cody saw one for him was a Speedo, his eyes bulged and he shook his head. "I don't think so!"

Bailey teased him. "Awwww...Come on, Codykins...Its very tropical. Get into the groove of the islands..."

Cody just gave her a look, but he got his revenge later. When the salesperson showed Bailey one London had picked out for her, her eyes popped out. There was basically just three tiny triangles and string.

"I don't think so!"

Cody grinned and teased her. "Awwww...Come on, Bails...Its very tropical. Get into the groove of the islands..."

Bailey just glared at him. "Okay, you've made your point..."

They both agreed that London's choices were not for them and began looking on their own. Since London demanded they get two a piece, they agreed to pick one they each liked for themselves and one they liked for the other (within reason). Cody was the easiest to shop for. Trunks were pretty much all the same, and the only difference was the pattern. For himself, he chose a pair of light green ones. Bailey teased him again and picked up a pair of hot pink ones.

"I like these..."

Cody shrugged. "Remember...you're the one who has to be seen with me..."

She paused. "True." She stopped and grabbed a pair of light blue ones. "I'll go with these instead." She smiled. "They match your eyes..."

Cody smiled. "I can live with that."

Next up was looking for Bailey. Cody was looking through the rack and grinned. He picked one up and showed it to her. "What do you think?"

Bailey just looked at him. "A houndstooth bikini? Really?"

Cody kept grinning. "What can I say? I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes..."

Bailey smiled back. "Cody, I love you, but no." She paused. "I'm surprised this shop would even carry something like that..."

Cody kept looking while Bailey did the same. She found one in a burnt orange that she liked.

"What do you think?"

Cody nodded. "I like it. It'll look great on you."

She smiled. "Your turn."

Cody kept looking and then he saw one he really liked. He held it up for her. "I like this one. For some reason, I think this color will look good on you..."

Bailey looked at it. "Lavender? You really think so?"

Cody smiled. "Oh yeah...I don't know why, but I can already tell you'll look amazing in it..."

Bailey shrugged. "Fine with me."

They both change into one of their new suits and then dropped off their bag from the store with the manager. And then, they were off to explore St. Maarten. They explored some of the local merchants, but as it turned out, Dutch was one of the languages that neither one of them spoke. Deciding they didn't want to carry around anything all day, they decided to hit the beach instead. And as they walked along hand in hand, they just talked.

"So, we're in St. Maarten..." Bailey grinned. "Any relation?"

Cody smiled. "I don't think so. Dad always told us we're were descended from these two viking brothers, Knut and Olaf Martin. Something about a bear and herring and they were banished from their village."

Bailey nodded. "I can see that. The blonde hair and blue eyes are very typical of those from Scandinavia."

"What about you? I've always wondered. Any relation to the Confederate General?"

Bailey paused. "Yeah, a distant cousin. Not fun having your name associated with one of the biggest colossal military blunders of all time..."

Cody smiled. "Not his fault. He was just following orders. The great Robert E. Lee was the one should be blamed for that."

She sighed. "I know that and you know that, but its not Lee's name on it..."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I know any other Pickett Charges will be welcomed by this Yankee...And by that, I mean someone from a Northern state, not a member of the evil empire that plays baseball in the Bronx..."

Bailey smiled at him. "I know...And if you do have viking blood coursing through your veins, you can pillage and plunder me any time..."

"I just may do that..."

As they continued walking and chatting, they stopped and looked around.

"Ummm..Cody?"

Cody just looked and nodded. "I know..."

Bailey quickly turned around. "I didn't know they had nude beaches here..."

Cody did the same. "Me either..."

_To be Continued..._

**AN: Someone asked if I was doing a post Graduation story. As much as I despised that episode and think it was a slap in the face to the fans of the show, I do have a follow up planned for it. I have everything mapped out in my head, but I just haven't had time to put it to paper or word processor as it may be.**_  
><em>


	46. The Best Day Ever

_Chapter 46_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody and Bailey just stood there looking in the opposite direction of the nude beack. And both found themselves blushing and feeling embarrassed. Cody was just shaking his head. He didn't want Bailey to think he had planned this.

"I am so sorry, Bails. I had no idea this is where we were headed. I remember reading there were some on the island, but I thought they were all on the French side..."

Bailey laughed. "I didn't know either. I read that too, but it never crossed my mind."

"We should probably head back the way we came..."

She smiled. "Probably should. Cody, I'm comfortable with you, and if it was just the two of us..."

Cody was surprised. "Really?"

"Maybe...But, showing myself off to a bunch of strangers has no appeal to me..."

He smiled. "Me either. And I wouldn't want to show you off either. You're that beautiful, but I'd want to keep that to myself..."

"I feel the same way about you." She grinned. "So, what should we do now?"

"Well, I had a surprise for you later, but maybe we could go ahead and do it now?"

Bailey kept grinning. "I'd like that. I love all of your surprises. What is it?"

Cody smiled. "How does learning to scuba dive sound?"

Bailey's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah...Is that okay?"

Bailey grabbed his hand and began dragging him back down the beach. "What are we waiting for? I've wanted to try that for so long!"

So, the rest of the morning, they went through a brief training course before they were taken out with a group out to a reef. And as a tandem, Cody and Bailey flipped over the side of the boat and began swimming around looking at everything together. Both were in awe as they swam side by side with all sorts of ocean life. And they even got to swim alongside a couple of dolphins. But when they saw a shark, both hightailed it out of there as soon as they could.

Once back on the boat and heading back to shore, Bailey turned to Cody and smiled.

"That was amazing. We don't get to see things like that everyday, and you don't realize just how beautiful it is down there..."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, and the dolphins were so amazing. I swear they are smarter than we actually realize." He grinned. "But when Jaws showed up, I was done..."

Bailey laughed. "Me too. So, what do we do the rest of the day?"

"Well, I say we grab lunch at the Tipton outdoor cafe, and after that, who knows? We have full use of the resorts amenities, so we could rent a jet ski or we could go para-sailing or even rent one of those big tricycles with the ridiculously large red plastic wheels..."

Bailey smiled. "Sounds perfect to me. I say we try para-sailing. Supposedly, you can see all the surrounding islands from here, so that would be fun."

Cody smiled back. "Anything you want to do today, we'll do..."

"What about what you want to do?"

"I'll be with you. I'll already be doing what I want to do..."

Bailey smiled again and leaned in and kissed him. "Cody, I know we've only been here a few days, but this has been the most fun I've had my whole life..."

"Me too." He teased her. "Alright, Bails. Lets go eat and then strap ourselves to a parachute and get dragged by a speedboat..."

And that's what they did. After a quick lunch at the outdoor cafe, they were off to the para-sailing launch. The brief lesson they had to take before heading out easily covered they time they needed to wait to get back in the water after eating. And before long, they were up in the air sailing over the bay. The entire time, they were busy pointing out to the other the various things they were seeing. And being in the air, they both felt so free. When it was time for their adventure to be over, both were sad to see it end.

The adrenaline rush they had was still kicking in strong, so they moved on to their next challenge. Twenty minutes later, they were bouncing along the waves on a jet ski. They took turns driving, and Bailey was first up. And she didn't mind Cody holding onto her tightly at all. But, she did feel a little mischievous, and at one point, she made a sharp turn and Cody went flying off into the crystal blue water. When he resurfaced, he spit out water and looked up at Bailey.

"Thanks..."

Bailey laughed. "Aww, come on, Codykins...I thought it was funny."

"I'm sure you did...now, how about helping me up?"

Bailey smiled and extended her hand. But, she should have braced her other hand, and it was too easy when Cody pulled her into the water with him. When she resurfaced and was spitting out water and rubbing her eyes, Cody laughed.

"Now, that was funny!"

Bailey just glared at him. "You know I'm going to get you for that, right?"

Cody grinned. "Nope, I believe that was me getting you back for your little stunt..."

She sighed. "Fine. Even now?"

"Of course. Shake on it?"

Bailey extended her hand and Cody shook it. But at the same time, he slipped the key to the jet ski off off her wrist. "My turn!"

Bailey hung her head, but both got back on the jet ski. And this time, it was Cody not minding her hanging on to him tightly. Soon enough, their hour rental was over and they had to return it to the shore. For the rest of the afternoon, they just laid out on the beach and took it easy. By six that afternoon, they realized they should be getting moving if they were going to make their eight o'clock reservation. So, they left the beach, rinsed all the sand off of them at the outdoor shower and headed back inside the hotel. The manager handed them their bags and a key to an empty suite.

An hour later, both had showered. Bailey was putting on her makeup when Cody came out of the bathroom in his boxers toweling off his hair.

"I can't believe they had a two in one shampoo and conditioner. I prefer to have them separately because some days, you just don't want one or the other..."

Bailey just shook her head. "Get dressed, Sweetie."

Cody shrugged, and thirty minutes later, both were dressed in their formal wear again. And once again, both couldn't take their eyes off of each other. Cody offered his arm, and Bailey took it. And off they went down to the restaurant. They both got several dirty looks when they were seated immediately before several others who had been waiting for a while. Getting to their table, Cody pulled out Bailey's seat for her before taking his seat across from her. Bailey smiled at him.

"Okay, I've never been anywhere close to as fancy as this..."

Cody smiled back. "Well, you've been to the fanciest place I've been...the restaurant at the Boston Tipton."

"And look at the menu. Its all in French?"

Cody grinned. "Mais oui. Poulet ou poisson?"

Bailey laughed. "Poisson...Je pense."

Cody paused. "What would you think about us ordering a bottle of champagne? You know, so we can make a toast?"

She smiled. "I think that would be okay...but as long as that's it. I actually want to remember all of today."

"Of course."

The waiter finally showed up, and they placed their orders. And the first thing brought to them was the bottle of champagne. Two glasses were poured for them, and Cody held up his glass. "What should we drink too, mon cher?"

Bailey smiled. "To nous...toi et moi. Je t'aime, Cody."

Cody smiled. "Je t'aime aussi, Bailey."

Both clinked classes and sipped on their champagne. Soon enough though, their food began arriving. And it was delicious. When it was time for dessert, the shared a piece of a local specialty that they soon discovered was covered in a rum sauce. After their adventure with daiquiris, it was a taste they now recognized. But, neither were feeling any ill effects. In fact, both lit up when they heard the in house band play a song that sounded familiar.

"Cody! This is one of the songs we learned to waltz to!"

Cody grinned. "Well, milady...may I have this dance?"

Bailey grinned back, and they walked on to the dance floor hand in hand. And they began to put their lessons to a test. And to both of their surprises, they both did it almost perfectly. When the song was over, they were kissing and didn't notice that others around them were applauding. Both blushed and made their way out onto one of the patios. Bailey was looking out at the view, and Cody circled her with his arms.

Bailey sighed in contentment. "Look, Cody...there's a full moon tonight."

He leaned in to kiss her neck. "How does a moonlight walk on the beach sound?"

Bailey laughed. "I think we're a bit overdressed for that..."

He shrugged. "As beautiful as you look, we can go back and change into our regular clothes." He smiled. "Besides, I think I'd like to have you all to myself."

Bailey smiled back. "Lets go get changed then..."

An hour later, they were changed back into their shorts, t-shirts and flip flops . And the hotel concierge even said he would have their other things returned back to their cabin on the ship right away. Out on the beach, they slipped off their flip flops and just walked hand in hand as the waves crashed over their feet. They found a dune and laid back and watched the moon and the stars.

Bailey sighed in contentment again. "Cody, this has been one of the best days of my life. Thank you."

Cody looked over at her and smiled. "One of the best of mine too. Right now, I think its vying for third place."

"What are numbers one and two?"

"Number two is the day I met you...Number one was New Year's Eve..."

Bailey smiled. "Those two are tops of my list too...I'll never forget either of them."

"Me either...Its almost like..." He paused and shook his head. "Nevermind..."

"No, tell me..."

"You'll think its extremely corny or cheesy..."

Bailey smiled again. "Maybe, but that's you. And no matter how corny or cheesy you are, I know you always speak straight from your heart. So, tell me what you were going to say."

Cody smiled. "I was going to say that the day you were abandoned outside my window was the day my life really began. Everything else was just to prepare me for that moment..."

Bailey grasped his hand. "That wasn't corny at all. And I know exactly what you mean." She leaned over and kissed him. "I'm so happy I have you in my life. Cody, you've become so essential to my life. I don't know what I'd ever do with out you..."

Cody kissed her hand. "As long as I have a say in it, you'll never have to find out. I need you in my life like I need oxygen to breathe. I'm completely and hopelessly in love with you."

"And I am head over heels in love with you too..."

They leaned in and kissed again and pulled back to just look at each other in the moonlight. Bailey felt her heart begin to beat faster and faster. A thought entered her mind, but instead of it scaring her, it excited her. More importantly, it felt right to her. She knew what she wanted.

"Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails?"

"I want to make this the best day of my life. I'm ready..."

Cody just looked at her for a second until he realized what she was talking about. "Ready...as in...ready?"

Bailey nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I am. I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Cody just looked back at her. His heart began to beat faster and faster too. But looking into her beautiful brown eyes, he knew there was nothing he wanted more in his life either. This felt right to him as well. He was ready too.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life either. I love you, Bailey. I'm ready to show you just how much..."

"So am I..." She leaned in, and they kissed again. But in this kiss, both released all of the passion and the lust and the love they had for each other into it. When they finally broke apart, both were breathing heavily.

"I think we should get out of here..."

Bailey grinned and nodded. "You're right...I've grown to love the beach, but right now, I want to be completely alone with you..."

Cody stood up and helped her up. "Lets get back to our cabin..."

"Lets..."

The cab ride back to the ship seemed to last forever as both constantly shared touches and secret smiles between the two of them. But once, back to the ship, both just grasped each other's hand. And without noticing how, they found themselves standing outside their cabin door. Cody turned to look at Bailey.

"Are you sure about this? If you've changed your mind, I completely understand..."

Bailey just smiled and nodded. "I'm positive. How about you?"

Cody just looked into her eyes and leaned in and kissed her again. When he pulled back, he smiled. "What does that tell you?"

Bailey grinned. "Everything I need to know..." She pulled him in and kissed him this time. "What does that tell you?"

Cody rubbed her cheek. "Just verified what I already knew...that I'm the luckiest guy in the world..."

"I guess that makes me the luckiest girl in the world then. Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails?"

"Make love to me..."

Cody smiled and opened the door. He turned and swooped her up into his arms. "I love you, Bailey."

"I love you too, Cody..."

Cody carried her into their cabin and kicked the door closed behind him.

_To be Continued..._


	47. Dawn of a New Day

_Chapter 47_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The next morning, the sunlight streamed in through the porthole in to their suite. Bailey felt herself beginning to stir and could feel Cody's arms wrapped around her tightly and protectively. Without opening her eyes, she just smiled and sighed in contentment. Last night had been the most amazing night of her young life. In a word, it had been perfect. Never in her life has she felt more loved, desired and cherished. She knew now what it truly meant to become one with another person. And instead of being worried that the night before would make things awkward between her and Cody, she now felt even closer to him. And wrapped securely in his arms, there was nowhere else she wanted to be. She sighed in contentment again, but this time, it was followed by small kisses on her neck. Smiling, she turned and found herself looking directly into Cody's eyes.

"Hey..."

Cody smiled back. "Hey..." He leaned in and gave her a gentle morning kiss. "Good morning, Beautiful."

"Good morning to you too...Tiger."

Cody just kept smiling. "Tiger, huh? How do you feel this morning?"

"Better than I've felt in my whole life..."

"What a coincidence...So do I. I have the urge to run out onto the deck and yell for all the world to hear just how wonderful last night was..."

Bailey smiled. "It was, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. In fact, I think I have the biggest grin permanently attached to my face now. People might start calling me the Joker..."

Bailey laughed. "Well, I like it..."

Cody laughed too. "I hope so, because you're responsible for it...Besides, you have a glow to you this morning yourself."

"Are you going to take responsibility for that?"

Cody kept grinning. "Gladly..." He leaned in and kissed her again. "I hope you know yesterday is now my new number one..."

"Mine too. Cody...I..." She paused trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to say.

"What?"

She smiled. "I can't find the right words to say what I want to say. But the closest I can find is...I love you."

"I love you too...Bails, I feel closer to you than anyone else in this world. And I felt that way before last night. But after last night, I..." He paused too. He took her hand and placed it over his heart. "...I want you to know that you are now a part of me."

"You're a part of me too..." She leaned in and kissed him again. Their kiss began to grow in passion, and when they finally pulled apart, both were breathing heavily again. Both just looked into each other's eyes again and smiled.

"I'm just glad things weren't awkward this morning..."

Bailey nodded. "Me too. Just because we made love, it doesn't change who we are..."

"I just hope I was able to show you last night just how much you mean to me..."

Bailey grinned. "Oh, you did...and then some. Cody, I've never felt more loved than I did last night. It was like our love for each other just wrapped around us and encased us in a cacoon."

Cody grinned too. "I know...And Bails, I know we had no idea what we were doing exactly, but it seemed like our bodies knew what to do."

"It did, didn't it?...And just think, it will keep getting better and better..."

Cody paused and brought her hand up to his lips to keep it. "I know it will, but I won't expect this everyday. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I will keep my promise to you. I would never force you to do this when you didn't want to."

Bailey smiled. "Cody, I know that. I know you. You will still be the same gentleman that I've come to expect. But I don't want you to try hold yourself back with me now. If I don't want to, I'll simply tell you, and I know you'll respect that. But I bet way more often that not, I'll want to as well. Cody, last night was amazing. I want that feeling over and over again."

"Me too...I believe I was right that when you love someone, it makes it even better."

"I guarantee you're right. It was amazing because of how we feel about each other..." She smiled again. "Cody, I love that this is something that only you and I share together. It makes it even more special..."

Cody smiled back. "I couldn't agree more."

Bailey sighed and laid her head on Cody's shoulder. "Can we just stay like this all day?"

"I think so..." He paused and grinned. "I can think of one more change this will make though..."

She looked up at him. "What's that?"

Cody lifted the comforter that was over them both. "I think we've lost all levels of being uninhibited around each other now..."

Bailey laughed. "Yeah, I guess we have..." She grinned. "While I love the view, I have to say...nice tan lines..."

Cody laughed. "You have some nice ones too..." He turned to her. "But, I guarantee I have a much, much better view..."

Bailey leaned up and kissed him. "Agree to disagree..."

He smiled. "Well, now that the last walls of modesty are forever torn down, how would you like to join me for a nice, hot bath?"

Bailey smiled back. "I'd love too..."

Thirty minutes later, they were laying in the garden tub in their bathroom in a nice hot bubble bath. Bailey was laying back against Cody's chest with her eyes closed.

"Codykins, this is heaven..."

He grinned and whispered in her ear. "Pretty sure I was already there last night..."

Bailey giggled. "I don't think I ever left..."

"You know, with talk like that, you might cause a guy to have a major ego boost..."

She turned and kissed him. "Well, this time, it will be completely earned. And don't think you didn't give me one last night too. I saw the look in your eyes. It was a mixture of love, lust, adoration and desire. Any idea how good that felt to see?"

Cody smiled. "Well, I saw your eyes too, so I think I have a pretty good idea."

Bailey snuggled in closer to him. "Is the shower tub back in the dorm room big enough for us to do this there? This would be good ways to start off our Saturday and Sunday mornings..."

"I don't know, but there's only one way to find out. It is smaller, so we might have to snuggle in close."

Bailey smiled. "And that's a bad thing?"

"Never."

"Can we just stay in here all day..."

Cody teased her. "We could, but I don't think either of us will be happy when the water cools off. Plus, I have to admit...after last night, I need food to replenish my system..."

Bailey laughed. "True, and I need food too."

Finally, the water did begin to cool on them. So, reluctantly, they did get out. But they realized their bath had been more a relaxing one rather than then a cleansing one. So, they hopped into their shower, and took turns lathering the other up and then washing them off. Of course, they ended up sharing even more kisses before being chased out of the shower by the water cooling off there too. Reluctantly, both dressed for the day.

"I guess we had to at some point, huh?"

Bailey smiled at him. "Yeah, but we'll be back later and then we can get comfy again..."

Cody grinned. "God, I love you..."

"I know...Now, come on. We need sustenance."

By the time they finally left the suite, they were just going to be able to catch the end of the brunch buffet. And both were so hungry, they attacked it with a fury. After filling their plates, they found a table to sit down at and dug in. As they were eating, Maddie and Trevor stopped by their table. Maddie smiled at them.

"You two had quite the memorable day yesterday, huh?"

Bailey's eyes went wide, but Cody actually started choking on the food he was trying to swallow. Bailey turned and patted Cody on the back. Finally, the food went down his throat, but he was still coughing.

Maddie turned to Bailey. "And I love your tan. You have such a glow to you today. You have to tell me what sunscreen you're using..."

Bailey didn't know what to say to that, but when Cody could finally breathe again, he looked up. "What did you say?"

"I said you two had quite the day yesterday..."

Cody and Bailey turned and looked at each other again. How did Maddie possibly now that? "What do you mean?"

Maddie smiled. "Well, we saw you two para-sailing and then out on a jet ski. London got us reservations at the same restaurant. And we saw you two waltzing. I never knew you were such the dancer, Cody. We were going to go over and say hello to you, but you two disappeared."

Cody and Bailey sighed in relief. "Oh...yeah, it was a busy day."

Bailey nodded. "And we took ballroom dancing classes earlier this semester. I guess we actually paid attention..."

"And after our dance, we decided to go for a walk on the beach..."

Maddie nodded. "Ahhh okay. Well, we have to get going. Trevor wants to hit the lido deck." She smiled. "I gave in after he agreed to go to the spa with me the other day. But that's something you two probably have learned by now. Relationships are all about compromise. Well, see you guys later..."

They walked off, and Cody and Bailey turned to each other and began laughing. "Okay, that was close..."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah..." She paused. "Are we keeping what happened last night just between us?"

Cody smiled. "I'm not going to tell anyone. As far as I'm concerned, what happened is our business only..."

Bailey smiled back. "I think so too..."

"So, what are we going to do today?" He grinned. "Any ideas come to mind?"

Bailey grinned back. "Uh huh..."

"What?"

"The spa! That sounds so relaxing right now..."

Cody tried to hide his disappointment. "Oh...okay..."

"After that, we can get messages..."

Cody nodded. "Sounds good..."

Bailey grinned. "You'll massage me, and I'll massage you..."

Cody lit up. "Now, you're talking!"

Bailey laughed. "I thought you'd enjoy that. Besides, we have all day to take it easy."

Cody nodded again. "True. We're leaving port today at noon, and we'll be on the open sea heading through..." He paused and began laughing.

Bailey looked at him. "What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking of the irony of where we are heading next..."

"Why? We're heading for the..." She paused and began laughing too. "You're right, its very ironic..."

Cody leaned over and kissed her. "I know, but kind of fitting at the same time..."

"It is fitting. Well, those Islands may still be Virgins, but we aren't any longer..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Sorry for this being the only chapter I post tonight. I ended up not feeling well when I got home and didn't get another chapter written. I'll try to have one for tomorrow. Oh, and for those hoping I'd get a little graphic? I thought about trying it, but I couldn't do it. I felt like I was invading their privacy. Plus, I think it better to leave it up to the imagination.**__  
><em>_


	48. Buffalo Soldiers

_Chapter 48_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The next several days were spent relaxing and taking it easy. The boat made another stop in St. Thomas, and Cody and Bailey spent a day exploring it as well. But more than anything, they decided that getting their rest was more important. Before too long, they would be back at school, and these remaining days would give them the energy they needed to make it through to the end of finals. After departing the Virgin Islands, the ship was now at sea again and heading towards the final stop of the cruise – Jamaica. And Cody and Bailey were both looking forward to seeing it.

Cody smiled. "What do you think? Should I buy myself a knitted cap while I'm there? Try to be like Bob Marley?"

Bailey just shook her head. "I don't think so...Nor do I think you should try to get your hair beaded..."

"Awww..." He laughed. "But you got your hair braided on St. Thomas and look how good it looks."

She teased him. "Yes, but I actually have long hair. If you still did too, I'd say go for it..."

"Oh, alright..." He smiled and cuddled up closer to her in their deck chair. "Can you believe we've already been here a week?"

"Time has sure flown by, hasn't it?" She smiled. "But this has been the best time of my life."

"Mine too..." He paused. "Maybe we should do this every spring break? You know, time away to recharge our batteries every year. A chance for us to just spend time together in paradise..."

Bailey laid her head on his shoulder. "I could definitely get behind that idea...but how would that work? We're just here now because of London..."

Cody smiled. "I'll work out a deal with her. I'm already going to have to do it for the mulch festival in couple of months. I may have to come out of retirement and produce Yay Me! again this summer..."

Bailey looked up at him and smiled. "I kind of hope you do..."

"You like seeing me humiliated?"

"No, not that at all. But it will give me another chance to see you each week when I'll be apart from you and missing you..."

Cody smiled again. "Tell you what. I'll come up with some kind of symbol or gesture for you to look for so you know I'm constantly thinking about you..."

Bailey grinned. "Why not just blow me a kiss?"

"I'll do that in private. I don't want her audience to think I'm blowing them one and get the wrong idea. Who knows what kind of psychos watch it..."

Bailey nodded. "Good point..." She sighed. "Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails?"

"I know we've taken our relationship to the next level now, but this summer, we won't be able to be together like that. Your Mom is already watching us like a hawk, and I'm sure my parents will be too when you visit..."

Cody leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I know. But Bails...you are worth the wait."

She smiled at him. "You really think so?"

"I know so. Besides, after now experiencing it, I can't imagine that a barn would be all that comfortable...And heaven help us if we got caught..."

Bailey laughed. "True..." She looked up at him. "You're worth the wait too, Codykins..."

Cody smiled at her. "I waited eighteen years for you, Sweetie...and that was definitely worth it."

She sighed in contentment. "So were you..."

He grinned and teased her. "But until we have to part..."

Bailey giggled. "You just read my mind..."

"Okay, we should change the subject before I make a spectacle of myself in public..."

Bailey laughed again. "If we must..."

"So, what do you want to do today, Sweetheart?"

She paused to think. "Would you mind if we just laid here like this for awhile?"

"Not at all. Nowhere I'd rather be."

Unfortunately, when they got to Montego Bay, Maddie and Trevor had to bid everyone farewell. They considered staying the extra few days, but they were both due to graduate in a couple of months. With only a short time left, they didn't want to do anything to risk not that happening. So, that afternoon, everyone had lunch together one last time, and they were joined by another couple – London and Todd. Like Trevor had, Todd only remembered Cody from when he was younger, but he did tell him that he still made the best cookies he had ever eaten.

Once lunch was over, Maddie and Trevor had to leave for the airport. And when Cody and Bailey turned around, London and Todd had disappeared too.

"Okay...that was odd."

Bailey smiled. "Oh well, I guess that just leaves us. You want to go see Montego Bay?"

Cody nodded. "Sure. We just need to make sure we're back before sundown. I heard its not very safe here outside of the all inclusive resorts. Plus, if we stray away from the main areas, we're likely to run into people who want to sell us a wide variety of illegal substances..."

"Yeah, I remember reading that. I have no desire to ever try any of those. I mean, look what alcohol did to us." She grinned. "Besides, if anyone tries to mess with us, they'll be in for a big surprise. We'll both have bear repellant, and you've taught me your little move."

Cody grinned. "Yeah. And you're gotten quite good at it. You've knocked me out...what about four times now with it?"

Bailey laughed. "Well, I did have to make sure I was doing it right, didn't I?"

"I suppose..." He laughed. "Come on, lets go get changed and get going."

And hour later, they were in Montego Bay. They went to the beach first, but after a couple of hours, they realized they may be getting too much sun. Both had great tans by now, but didn't want to end up looking like lobsters. So, they put their cover clothes back on and headed to the tourist shopping district. They had been doing some shopping for souvenirs all along, but they realized this was going to be their last chance to finish up. They found a few things they thought their families and friends would like, and were actually enjoying the negotiating process. And one point, Bailey needed to run to the ladies room, and Cody told her he would wait for her looking at the display outside of it. And as he was shopping, the merchant spoke to him.

"Was that your lady friend?"

Cody looked up and nodded. "Yes, she is."

The guy smiled. "Maybe I can interest you in a gift for her then."

Cody paused. "Yeah...maybe you can. What do you have for the girl of your dreams?"

The guy laughed. "For that, I think you'd have to go to Jared..."

Cody laughed too. "Probably...Our time down here in the Caribbean has been wonderful. I'd like to find something for her to always remember it by..."

"I think I have just the thing, Mon..." He reached under his display and pulled out a small box. He opened it and showed it to Cody. "What do you think?"

Cody looked at it. It was perfect. It was a silver ring with carvings around the sides. There were palm trees, dolphins, and a ship. And prominently displayed, we're two intertwined hearts. He was sure Bailey would love it. Cody looked up. "How much?"

The guy smiled. "Make me an offer, and we'll negotiate."

Cody paused to think. He and Bailey had already converted some American dollars to Jamaican dollars (J) earlier. The exchange rate had been all over the place. Some places were offering 75J per US dollar while others were offering close to 90J. Cody looked up at the guy. "Alright. 2400J or $25 American."

The guy laughed. "Those two don't match up, Mon."

Cody smiled. "I know. But with the fluctuating rates, would you rather take your chances with the J or American money?"

The man just looked at Cody. "You're kidding me right?"

Cody shook his head. "Nope, not at all. And my girlfriend will be out of the bathroom any minute now. That's my final offer. Take it or leave it..."

The man's smile was gone and replaced by a frown. "Fine. I'll take the $25 American. Here's your ring. And don't come back around my shop no more..."

Cody smiled as he pocketed the small box. "Fair enough...Pleasure doing business with you."

About that time, Bailey returned from the bathroom.

"Buy anything while I was in there?"

Cody smiled and shook his head. "Did some haggling, but I don't think my negotiating skills were appreciated."

Bailey smiled back. "I think we've dealt with that all day..."

At that moment, they heard a clap of thunder. Looking up, they saw dark storm clouds beginning to come in as well as the wind picking up.

"Looks like we're about to get the first rain on our trip. We should be heading back to the ship ASAP."

Cody nodded, took her hand, and they both began running back towards the ship. But, they weren't exactly fast enough. By the time they got back to their room, they were both soaked to the bone. But that didn't matter to them. Both just laughed about it.

Cody smiled. "Well, I guess we're stuck indoors the rest of the day."

Bailey smiled back. "I don't mind one bit...Why don't we just stay in tonight? We can order room service up to the room..."

"I like it...And since we're already wet, how does a nice hot bath sound?"

"Absolutely perfect..."

Cody grinned. "I'll go get in started..." And when he did he hid the ring so he could still reach it while being in the tub.

Ten minutes later, they were both laying back in the warm water again. Cody had his arms wrapped tightly around her and nibbling on her earlobe again.

Bailey just giggled. "Cody..."

"What? I know you like it when I do that..."

She sighed. "I know...I love it...And I love this...I just know we have to head back to reality in a few days, I'm just really going to miss being on this boat."

"Me too. But, we'll always remember our time here."

"Yeah, we will..." She smiled. "Fondly..."

"What if I said I have something for you so you'll always have a reminder?"

Bailey turned and looked up at him. "You do?"

Cody smiled. "Yeah, I do..." He reached over and grabbed the box from its hiding place. "I bought this for you today..."

Bailey grinned and took the box from him. "Cody..." She opened the box, and her eyes went wide when she saw what it was. "Its beautiful!"

She lifted the ring out of the box and looked at it.

"I have twofold reasons for giving it to you. One, the ship and dolphins and palm trees will always remind you of our time here together. This summer, you can look at it and remember our adventure..."

Bailey smiled. "I will..."

"And the two hearts...well, I think those symbolize us. With them intertwined, I want you to always remember that you have my heart and that you are a part of me..."

Bailey kept smiling. "Or maybe it means your heart belongs to me and mine belongs to you and that together, we are one?"

Cody smiled back. "That works too. I want you to be able to look at it and know how much I'm committed to you...to us."

"I know you are. Will you put it on my finger?"

Cody nodded and slowly slid it on her finger. Bailey grinned. "A perfect fit. Maybe instead of a sign, this will be enough to tell everyone that I belong to you and only you..."

Cody leaned in and kissed her. "I hope so. I love you, Bails."

"I love you squared..."

Cody grinned. "I love you cubed..."

Bailey grinned back. "You know, we could go back and forth like this all night..."

"I know..."

"Instead of doing that, why don't we go order room service...and then hang a do not disturb sign on the door."

Cody smiled. "Sounds good. Like Bob Marley would say...Lets get together and feel alright..."

Bailey just shook her head and laughed. "Okay, while I like the thought, maybe it is time to get you out of the Caribbean...Mon."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Still not feeling well, so this is all I have today. I apologize for any errors as I didn't get a chance to edit it like I normally do.**__  
><em>_


	49. Back to Boston Part Quatre

_Chapter 49_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The last two days of their cruise were spent on board the ship. The boat was going to have to go around Cuba, but it was still close enough in the distance that they could see it. And both talked about how one day they hoped they got a chance to see visit there. Cody and Bailey spent the last couple of days relaxing as much as possible. They did hit up the lido deck every day for at least a couple of hours. And by then, Bailey had grown to love the water slides. After going down one for about the tenth time one day, Cody jokingly told her he was adding a water park to her visit to Boston in July.

Tuesday night was due to be their last night on the boat. And that was the night they had been able to get reservations for the best restaurant on the ship. Not sure when they would be able to afford fresh seafood again, both went in that direction. And they decided to order different entrees so they could share. After dinner was over, they just took their time walking around the decks one last time.

Bailey sighed. "Cody...Is it bad that I don't want to leave?"

He smiled at her. "Not at all. Just imagine if we had gotten to go to high school here. We would have been on this boat for four years. Think we would have gotten tired of it?"

She paused to think about that. "I don't know. One hand, we wouldn't have had the Tiptons picking up the tab for us, so it would have been a lot different. On the other hand, getting to explore the world with you? I would have never gotten tired of that."

"Me either..." He sighed. "I do know I have no desire to go back to the room and pack right now..."

Bailey smiled. "Then lets not. We'll do that in the morning. How does getting up early sound? You know early enough to watch the sun rise over the ocean one last ime. Then we can catch the breakfast buffet and still have plenty of time to pack before we dock back in Nassau. We can always sleep on the plane back home."

Cody grinned. "I love your ideas...What should we do the rest of tonight though?"

She rubbed his chest seductively. "I'm sure we'll think of something..."

He grinned even wider. "I really, really love your ideas..."

The next morning, they indeed were up in time to watch the sun rise. And neither one minded that they'd only had a couple of hours of sleep. After breakfast, they did indeed finally pack their bags and gave them to the porter who would make sure they got to the airport. They looked around their cabin one last time before they left themselves.

"I'll never forget this place..."

Cody wrapped his arm around her as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Me either. Remember cabin 12-204. We'll try to get it again next year..."

"I'd like that..."

He smiled. "You know the best part of what my memories of this place are?"

"What's that?"

"The thing that made them so special to me – you – I get to take home with me."

Bailey smiled up at him. "Me too...Come on, Codykins. Lets get going. As much as we don't want to, we have to get back to the real world. Too bad Yale doesn't have a campus or semester at sea program..."

"I know. And you're right. Lets go home, Bails."

He extended his arm, and she took it. They left their cabin and headed back down to the ship's lobby. And when they got there, they saw Mr. Moseby busy working away at something. Both decided to go say goodbye to him.

"We hope you enjoy your new job here, Mr. Moseby..."

He looked up. "You two are leaving? I'd almost forgot you were even here..." He began laughing. "Why couldn't you have been like this back at the Tipton?"

Cody grinned. "Well, I like to think I've grown up some..."

Moseby nodded. "You probably have..." He smiled. "And you're new partner in crime is probably a better influence on you..."

Bailey smiled. "Thank you."

"We'll miss seeing you around Boston, but we'll tell everyone you're doing well. And if you're back in Boston over Thanksgiving, you have an open invitation."

Moseby smiled. "I appreciate that. And I never thought I'd say this, but you are welcome here anytime you want as well...the both of you."

Cody grinned. "I'll have to work that out with London. I'm a poor college student after all..."

"Good luck with that as well. If I remember, you both want to be doctors. I wish you both the best in your pursuits..."

Bailey smiled again. "Good luck to you too. And if I may say, I've learned the open seas can be very romantic. Hopefully it will be good to you too..."

Moseby laughed. "You and me both. Take care of yourselves and each other."

Cody nodded. "We will, and you do the same. Goodbye, Mr. Moseby..."

They left the lobby and made their way down the gang plank when they almost literally ran into a red headed woman in her late thirties.

"Excuse me, you two. I'm supposed to be here for an appointment in five minutes. Can you tell me where the lobby is?"

Bailey nodded. "Top of the gang plank and take a left."

The continued on and found a driver holding up a sign with their names on it. They figured London was on her own schedule, so they thought nothing of it. Thirty minutes later, they were being dropped off at the general aviation terminal of the Nassau airport. And to their surprise, their luggage was already in the trunk of the car. Soon, they were called and lead out to the Tipton jet. Both got comfortable in preparing to wait for London. But when the plane's door was closed, both looked at each other in confusion. The hailed the flight attendant.

"Where's London?"

She smiled at them. "Miss Tipton will not be joining us. We were told she departed the boat in Jamaica and left on another private jet headed for Zurich. I thought you would have been made aware of that?"

Bailey turned to Cody who just shaking his head and laughing. "What?"

"Zurich is where Todd goes to dental school...Good for London."

Bailey smiled. "Well, I hope she finds happiness like we have. You're right, good for her."

Twenty minutes later, they were airborne. And like Cody and Bailey had predicted, both pretty much slept off and on the whole flight back to Boston. Pockets of turbulence pretty much prevented any length of continuous sleep though. Fortunately, the flight attendant woke them up about thirty minutes outside of Boston with a weather report. Instead of it being in the high 80's or low 90's from which they had just left, it was going to be in the high 40's or low 50's. Sighing, they grabbed their bag again and changed back into the jeans, sweatshirts and regular shoes they had worn onto the plane eleven days ago.

Once they landed in Boston, another car met them at Logan Airport, loaded up their bags and took them back to the Tipton hotel. Of course, after only a few hours of sleep on the boat and a couple of more on the plane, they were exhausted. When they got to the 24th floor, Carey wasn't home. So, they just dragged their bags into the suite before collapsing onto the couch together.

"Bails, I just going to close my eyes real quick..."

Bailey already had hers closed though. "Uh huh...Me too."

Before they knew it, they were both asleep. And like they were used to, Bailey curled up in front of Cody, and he wrapped his arms around her. Both were fast asleep when Carey returned back to the suite. Walking in, she saw them and smiled seeing they were home. But seeing them in such close quarters, she had to frown. It was rather obvious by their comfort with each other that this was not the first time they had done this. She paused wondering what she should do or say.

Part of her was being the overprotective mother who wanted to immediately put a stop to things. But she had to realize that Cody wasn't a kid anymore. He was 18 years old and would be 19 soon enough. And, he was out on his own and making his own life decisions right now. Carey shook her head and sighed. Her little man...her little men were actually men now. She was their same age when she left home to begin her own life. And if she was honest, they weren't too much younger than she was when she had them. That thought caused her to shudder. She may be on the other side of 40 now, but she was definitely not ready to be a grandmother.

But, she had to remind herself that her days of telling her sons what to do were over. Sure, she would always have a little influence over them, but not like what she once had. Instead of playing an active part, she could only watch now. And that part made her sad. If she let her irrational side take control, she would blame Bailey for this. She was the one who was taking Cody away from her. But her rational side new better than that. Carey really liked Bailey and knew she was good for Cody. She actually loved him and wanted to be with him. If Carey was honest with herself, she was exactly the kind of girl she wished Cody would bring home with him. And he had.

But as she was standing there staring at them, her cell phone began to ring. She looked down to see who it was. Seeing it was her sister calling, she ignored it. But when she looked up, she saw a pair of blue eyes and a pair of brown eyes staring back at her.

Carey smiled. "Welcome back..."

Cody and Bailey tried to blink away the sleep from their eyes when they both realized the compromising position they were in.

"Ummm...we must have fallen asleep, Mom..."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, we woke up early to see the sun rise on the ocean, and I guess the lack of sleep finally caught up with us..."

Carey paused. "If I ask you two an honest question, will you give me an honest answer?"

Both nodded.

"This wasn't the first time you've fallen asleep all wrapped up together, is it?"

Bailey looked up and Cody who paused. "No, Mom...its not..."

Carey nodded. "I didn't think it was..." She paused again and smiled. "So, how was your trip?"

Cody and Bailey looked at each other in surprise. "Ummm...It was great..." Cody just looked at his Mom. "You aren't going to chastise us?"

Carey shook her head. "No, I'm not. You're both old enough to make your own decisions, and I have to learn to respect those. I admit...its hard seeing my little man grown up so much, but it could be a lot worse. I mean, Bailey is a wonderful girl who I know loves you, so that eases my worries a great deal. You two are going to live your own lives. Last thing I will say is to just be careful." He paused. "Oh, and I'm not ready to be a grandmother..."

Cody's eyes went wide. "Mom!"

Carey held up her hand. "Okay, okay...I'm done."

Bailey smiled at Carey. "Thank you, Carey. We will be careful. And I'll take good care of your 'little man' for you..."

"Thank you...Now, how was this trip? I can tell you both have a nice tan now."

Cody smiled. "It was a lot of fun. Maddie and Trevor were there too, and we spent some time with them. And we discovered London is now in Zurich with a certain dental student..."

Carey's eyes went wide. "Todd St. Mark? Oh boy...Mr. Tipton will not be happy. Someone around here may get fired..."

Bailey was confused. "Huh?"

"Whenever Mr. Tipton is upset, he fires someone. As for why he would be upset, the hotel across the street is the St. Mark. Mr. Tipton and Mr. St. Mark hate each other. Both of their bloods will boil if their kids date...Not to mention it might bring Ilsa back into our lives..."

Cody shuddered. "Oh yeah..."

Bailey was confused again. "Who's Ilsa?"

Cody smiled at her. "Pure unadulterated evil in human form, Honey."

"That bad, huh?"

Carey nodded. "She had poor Mr. Moseby scared to death..."

Cody smiled. "Speaking of Mr. Moseby...We found him. He's the manager of the S.S. Tipton now."

"Huh...good for him." Carey shrugged. "So, did you guys get to see a lot of cool places"

"We did. We got to explore the Caribbean and see places we'd never seen before."

Carey nodded. "Good. I do have one thing to say though..."

"What?"

She smiled. "You two looked amazing in your tuxedo and dress. I watched the webisode with Zack and Maya. You're brother was a little disappointed though. He was expecting to see you humiliated, and instead, you got an Armani tuxedo..."

Bailey smiled. "He did look very handsome in it. And we got the chance to wear them out to a fancy restaurant in St. Maarten."

"Well, I hope you both had a good time while you were gone."

Cody and Bailey smiled at each other. "Neither of us will ever forget our time aboard the S.S. Tipton."

_To be Continued..._


	50. Familiar Faces

_Chapter 50_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The rest of Wednesday evening, Cody and Bailey just hung around the suite. Even though they had napped on the plane and on the couch when they got back, both were still exhausted. They had enough energy to head down the street to grab a quick dinner, but after that, they just returned back to the suite. It was definitely going to be an early night for the both of them. Carey was doing her show that night, so they had the suite to themselves. And after what she had said earlier, they didn't worry about sharing Cody's bed that night. As they curled up next to each other, Cody couldn't help but laugh a little. Bailey looked up at him.

"What?"

"I was just thinking. This is twice someone has attempted to share a bed with me either in our old suite or this one..."

Bailey just gave him a look. "Oh? And who was the first person?"

Cody smiled. "Zack. We had gone to see a horror movie. He was sure it would freak me out, but it didn't end up bothering me. Zack, on the other hand, was plenty freaked out. So, that night, he tried to climb into bed with me..."

Bailey laughed. "What did you do?"

"I called him a goof and pushed him out..."

She teased him. "Should I be worried you're going to do the same to me?"

Cody pulled her in tighter to him. "Not a chance..." He yawned. "Besides, I doubt I'd have the energy..."

Bailey yawned too. "I know what you mean. But, at least we have a couple of days here to recuperate before we head back to school..."

Cody nodded. "Yeah. Dorms open back up on Saturday morning. I say we head back then. That way, we have a night to get used to sleeping in our bed again after two weeks."

"Good idea..." She leaned in and kissed him. "Goodnight, Sweetie...I love you."

"Love you too, Sweetheart."

And soon enough, both were fast asleep. A few hours later, Carey returned back from her performance. And like she did before, she checked in on them. She did have to admit to herself that seeing them cuddled up together was rather sweet. And she couldn't miss the fact that both have them had the biggest smiles and most peaceful looks on their faces. Cody truly was happy, and that's all she really wanted.

Thursday morning, they both slept in...until 9:00 AM which was late for them except on days they were hungover. And that was one of a couple of their new experiences on the trip that they decided not to mention to Carey. Of course, unbeknownst to them, Carey had made a few phone calls the night before when she got home. One was to her ex-husband, Kurt. And she was only mildly surprised that Kurt already knew of her discovery from the night before. It made sense to her then that this had happened over Valentine's Day weekend. The other phone call she was more worried about making as she didn't want to cause problems for the kids. But as a parent, she didn't want to hide anything from Eunice Pickett and thought she had the right to know.

"So, you caught them curled up on the couch together asleep, huh?"

Carey nodded. "Yeah, and both admitted it hadn't been the first time. I've had to accept that they are both old enough to make their own decisions, but as a parent, I thought you would want to know..."

Eunice had to nod as well. "I appreciate you letting me know. I had an inkling this might happen eventually when I saw them all curled up together taking a nap on New Year's Eve. Well, I have six older daughters, so this isn't a first for me..."

Carey sighed. "Well, it is for me. Kind of hard to see my baby boy being so grown up. Seeing him living his life like an adult. It feels like I've been replaced. And I absolutely adore Bailey. I couldn't have picked anyone better for him..."

"But its hard to see it actually happening in front of you. I think with all daughters, it was easier on me, but I know each time Clyde has had to watch one of his little girls grow up, he gets down in the dumps..."

Carey paused. "I don't want him to blame Cody for this. I just thought you two should know just how close our kids are..."

Eunice laughed. "Don't worry about Cldye. I've had to deal with this six times before. He won't take it out on Cody. He's come to learn that his little girls will become women whether he likes it or not. He'll grumble and pout for a few days, but he'll get over it. And despite what his initial reaction might be, I know he likes Cody. And we all know that there is something serious between those two."

Carey had to nod. "I think that's obvious. In fact..." She paused. "You know, nevermind..."

"Go ahead..."

"Well, I was thinking I might be looking at one of my future daughters-in-law..."

Eunice smiled. "I know what you mean. But, like you said, they are adults now. And nine months out of the year, they are by themselves. We just have to learn to trust them."

"I know..."

"I appreciate you calling though. I'll take care of Clyde. And I'm glad they had fun on their trip, and I'll call Bailey later to catch up with her. But, we have to be up at dawn, so I need to get going. Keep me updated if you find out anything else..."

Carey agreed, and ended the call. Soon, she was in bed herself. The next morning though, she did wake up when she smelled something delicious coming from the kitchen. Throwing on her robe, she went out into the suite and found Cody and Bailey cooking breakfast together. They had their backs to her, so they didn't see her coming, but she could hear them laughing about something.

"What's so funny?"

Both turned to see her and smiled. "Good morning, Mom." "Good morning, Carey."

Cody kept smiling. "We were just talking about eggs. Bailey was telling me about the times she had to actually reach into a hen's cloaca to get eggs out..."

Carey just looked at them. "Oh really...I think I'll stick to reaching into the dairy section at the market to get mine. So, what are your plans for the day?"

Bailey shrugged. "We're not sure yet. We saw in the paper that the natural history museum has a new exhibit we both would kind of like to see, so we may do that. Other than, probably just take it easy and rest up for school starting back."

Carey nodded. "Sounds like a plan..."

Cody paused. "We might stop by BC and see Zack and Maya too. I think we did promise to visit them the next time we were in Boston."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I believe we did..."

Carey shrugged. "Well, you two have fun today. I'll see you later."

An hour later, they were both showered and dressed and on their way out of the hotel. They were about to hop onto a subway to the museum when a smell hit them both. Both looked at the other, stepped back and began laughing. They waited for the next train and were soon on their way to the natural history museum.

And once there, they just began walking around enjoying seeing everything. Especially, they enjoyed the new exhibit on the Jurassic period. Of course, both had to laugh at how absurd the movie was for using the dinosaurs they did and still calling it Jurassic Park. As they were walking around, they happened to notice something.

"Ummm...Cody...isn't that your old friend, Bob?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah..." He paused. "Not sure I'd call him my friend any more though. I admit, I do wonder what he's doing here. Museums were never his idea of fun..."

Bailey saw something that caused her eyes to go wide. "That's why!"

Cody saw it too. Bob was standing there when Barbara walked over to him and kissed his cheek. Bailey could feel her blood beginning to boil again. Despite only having met her once, Bailey had a deep dislike of Barbara. She felt her self beginning to tense up when she felt Cody squeeze her hand.

"Are you okay?"

Bailey turned to him. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

Cody smiled. "Bails, I'm fine. Those two can do whatever they want now. I don't care. If you ask me, I should go over there and thank them. If they hadn't done what they did, I might not be standing here holding your hand. My life would still be stuck in neutral. Believe me, I definitely got the better end of this deal...and its not even close."

She smiled back at him. "Thank you, Sweetie. But, no one would blame you if you were still angry at them."

Cody shook his head. "Being angry with them means I would have to let them matter to me. And they don't. I hope they have happy lives, but that's as far I will go."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." He lifted her hand up and kissed it. "Besides, I have much better things to focus my energies on..."

Bailey grinned. "Well, in that case...allow me to show you where my energies are focused." She pulled Cody in for a kiss. Both were quite enjoying it, but it had to end when they both heard someone clearing their throat. When they broke apart, they turned to see Barbara and Bob staring at them. Cody briefly considered wiping Bailey's lipstick off his lips but decided against it.

"Hey...guys..." Cody just smiled, and Bailey did as well. "What's up?"

Barbara just glared at them. "What are you two doing here?"

Bailey kept smiling. "We're just enjoying the end of our spring break. We just got back from a romantic ten day cruise of the Caribbean. It was the most amazing time of our lives."

Cody wrapped his arm around her. "You can say that again, Bails. It was paradise on earth. I'll never forget it for the rest of my life."

"Me either..."

Both turned back to Bob and Barbara. "So, what's up with you two? I thought you two were splitsville..."

Barbara swallowed. "We're trying things again...the right way."

Cody shrugged. "If you say so...I will say, Bob...You better keep an eye on this one. You of all people know what she's capable of..."

Barbara's glare was back. "I made a huge mistake, okay? I learned my lesson, and I'm ready to move on with my life. And I really don't appreciate you rubbing it into my face how well things are going for you now!" She began to raise her foot to stomp on Cody's when she saw she was getting stared down by Bailey.

"Don't even think about it. You mess with my man, and you'll deal with me. And no, it wasn't a mistake. Adding two numbers wrong is a mistake. Writing down something wrong is a mistake. What you did was deliberate. But you know, we're both glad you did. I have Cody now, and I'm not ever letting him go. He'll never worry about me making a 'mistake' like you did. I know what I have. So, in a way...thank you."

Cody just grinned. "Yeah, thank you both. I've never been happier in my whole life, and I owe that to the two of you. Its absolutely wonderful being with a woman who truly loves me, and I truly love too." He turned to Bailey. "Come on, Sweetie...we have more to see."

"Okay, Codykins..."

Cody paused. "You know what...I'm feeling sentimental." He stepped his foot out. "How about once for old times' sake?"

Barbara was furious now and gladly stomped Cody's foot one more time. But, instead of Cody being in pain, Barbara's ankle jammed. She dropped to the ground holding her ankle and crying out. Cody was grinning, and Bailey looked at him questioningly.

"I'm wearing my steel toes today."

Bailey just laughed, and they walked off leaving Barbara on the ground in agony.

"I thought you didn't care about what they did?"

Cody grinned. "I don't. But, nothing wrong in having a little fun, is there?."

She laughed. "Okay, remind me not to get on your bad side..."

"Never happen, Bails. I love you too much to do that."

She smiled. "Well, why don't we get out of here. I think we've seen enough exhibits for one day."

After getting back on the subway, they began the trip out to Chestnut Hill and Boston College. Fortunately, they remembered exactly where Zack's dorm room was. After entering the hall and climbing the stair, they knocked on the door.

Zack opened the door and saw his brother and Bailey standing there.

"Well, well...Look who it is. It looks like my brother and his girlfriend except they now have tans..."

Maya was inside the room, and she rolled her eyes. "Zack..." She smiled. "Come on in you two. We were just doing some homework, but we could use a break."

Cody and Bailey came inside and sat next to each other on Zack's bed. Maya looked at them again. "We saw the show from down there. You both looked amazing. Had a chance to use your new outfits yet?"

Bailey smiled. "We sure did. We had an amazing night in St. Maarten..."

Maya grinned. "How amazing?"

Zack just looked at his girlfriend. "Don't want to know. He is my brother after all!"

Cody just laughed. "I know that feeling. But, it was a very romantic night, and we'll leave it at that."

Bailey smiled. "The whole trip was romantic." She held out her hand. "Cody bought me this ring in Jamaica so I'd have a reminder of our time together."

Maya got up to look at it. "Wow. Its gorgeous. Nice job, Cody..."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Yeah...Good one, Codester..."

Cody turned to Zack. "Oh yeah, I was supposed to give you a message. We ran into someone who wanted us to tell you hello."

"Who?"

"Maddie. She and Trevor were there as well. She was happy to hear you were doing so well. And she says she can't wait to meet Maya. Maddie wants you to bring Maya to her wedding this summer."

Zack paused. "Oh, okay...I almost forgot she was getting married this summer. Good for her though." He smiled at Maya. "I'm happy she found someone who can put up with her like I did with Maya..."

Maya smiled back. "Good answer."

About that time, the door to the room opened. Woody and a really petite girl walked in. "Hey..."

"Hey, Woodchuck...Addison. You remember my brother and his girlfriend right?"

Woody nodded. "Oh yeah." He turned to Addison. "That's Cailey..."

Cody and Bailey looked at each other in confusion before turning back to Woody. "Cailey?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Cailey. Cody and Bailey. Kind of like Brangelina except nobody cares about you two..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Feeling much better, and I will resume righting on my other stories tomorrow. My private nurse (my GF) is strict. I'm not going to get on her bad side. LOL**__  
><em>_


	51. Like Old Times

_Chapter 51_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other and shrugged. Cailey? That was definitely a new one for them. But they just shook their heads and turned back towards Woody who was still talking.

"And this is my girlfriend, Addison."

Cody and Bailey both shook her hand and said it was nice to finally meet her. Maya then spoke up and told Woody and Addison that Cody and Bailey were telling them about their cruise down in the Caribbean. And then Maya had Bailey show them the ring that Cody had bought her. And when she did, Addison's eyes went wide, and she began speaking very rapidly.

"Oh...It so beautiful. You know, Woody bought be a ring too. It was a candy ring. It turned my tongue all different shades of purple. It looked like my tongue was a giant grape. It was so cool! And then another time, he bought me a cherry one, and my tongue turned red. And it was still a little purple from before. My tongue looked like I had a rainbow in my mouth. It was so much fun. Of course, I had to immediately call my little sister about it and tell her I had such a good boyfriend. But she got mad because she doesn't have a man in her life, but she's only in fifth grade..."

Zack, Maya and Woody all didn't react because they were used to it by then. But Cody and Bailey just looked at each other in shock. Cody leaned in and whispered.

"What did she say?"

Bailey shrugged. "I have no idea. All I heard was a buzz..."

Cody agreed. "Yeah...Someone needs to lay off the sugar."

They had just turned back towards everyone when Maya spoke up again. "So, with only a day left on your break, what are you two going to do?"

Bailey paused to think. "Well, dorms don't open until Saturday morning. We'll probably head back after we get up on Saturday. Tomorrow, we have some homework to do for Monday. We both have papers due, but we all we have left to do is edit them. So, that should only take a few hours."

Zack raised his eyebrows. "A few hours just to edit them?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. We edit them ourselves once and make changes. Then, we let the other read over them and make suggestions. And then we make the last changes for our final drafts."

Zack shook his head. "I've never spent three hours writing a paper before period."

Cody smirked. "Because you always tricked me into doing them or 'borrowed' one of my old ones." He turned to Bailey. "Our sophomore year of high school, he turned in a paper I wrote on Louis XIV in the fifth grade..."

Zack grinned. "It was good paper. I got an 'A' on it. Besides, Cody's password has always been easy to crack. It used to be "BLANKIE", but I'd almost bet right now that his password is 'BAILEY'.

Bailey smiled and turned to Cody. "Is it?"

Cody shook his head. "Nope."

Maya interrupted them. "Enough!"

Cody stood up. "Maya's right. You all have homework to do, and we're distracting you. We should be getting back to the hotel."

Bailey stood up too. "Cody's right. We should let you all get back to your studies. We know how important it is to focus on what's important."

Zack groaned and Maya sighed. "You're both right. We do have work to do. How about we all get together to see a movie tomorrow night? Kind of a triple date."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good to us. Just give us a call when you're done with classes and let us know when and where."

And with that, they made their exit and were on their way back to the subway. And as they rode back towards downtown, Bailey turned to Cody and smiled.

"So...what is your password then?"

Cody teased her. "Why? Planning on 'borrowing' some of my old papers too? I have one I wrote in second grade on bananas that I call "The Yellow Miracle'..."

Bailey laughed. "No, but it might be useful in case of emergency if we did know each other's..."

Cody paused and nodded. "Good point. Plus, I trust you. Well, my system requires my password to be at least ten letters, contain at least one capital letter and at least one number..."

"Yeah? What did you pick?"

He grinned. "Easy...its 'Bailey1231'..."

She grinned back. "It is my name...with the day we first told each other we loved each other and became a couple at the end. Awww..."

"What's yours?"

"Mine only has to be eight letters and no numbers required. Its 'Codykins'..."

Cody laughed. "Wow...In less than six months, that name has gone from giving me the creeps to being music to my ears."

The rest of Thursday night, they just hung out at the hotel again. And once again, they went to sleep in Cody's old bed again. On Friday morning, they took their time fixing breakfast and getting ready. They even sat down and did the paper's crossword and jumble together. But combined, those only took them about 30 minutes.

Around noon, they finally decided to get to work. They pulled out their laptops, and after three hours of editing, re-editing and making changes, both were satisfied with their final drafts. And both went ahead and printed out hard copies in addition to saving them them both to their laptop's hard drive, emailing them to themselves and each other and saving them to a flash drive.

The phone call came about five o'clock, and by seven, they were meeting Zack, Maya, Addison and Woody for dinner at a place near BC's campus. And for about an hour, they sat around and ate. Cody and Bailey told them more about some of the things they had seen on their trip. They even told them the story of them accidentally confusing daiquiris for smoothies and how both of them ended up drunk.

Zack was laughing so hard he was crying. "Please tell me there are pictures of that. I'd pay to see my brother blitzed out of gourd."

Then, they told them of accidentally walking upon a nude beach, and how they turned and hightailed it out of there. But, they did proceed to tell them of their day para-sailing, scuba diving and jet skiing.

Zack shook his head this time. "I can't believe you two got to do all of that...for free!"

Cody grinned. "Hey, next time, you make a deal with London...Speaking of which, guess who showed up as a guest of London's for a few days?"

Zack paused to think. "Lance?"

Cody shook his head. "Nope. Todd St. Mark."

Zack's eyes went wide. "Was Ilsa there too?"

Cody shuddered. "Thankfully, no..."

Bailey shook her head and laughed. "Okay, I really need to meet this Ilsa once so I can understand just how bad she really is..."

After dinner, they walked to the nearby movie theater. And as they waited in line, Cody pulled out some money and turned to Bailey. "Why don't you go ahead and get us some popcorn and something to drink? I'll buy the tickets and meet you inside."

Bailey took the money and kissed his cheek. "Good idea. See you in a few."

Zack and Woody picked up on the same idea, and soon it was the three guys waiting in line for tickets and the three girls waiting in line at the concession stand. And as they waited, Zack turned to Cody.

"So..."

"So what?"

"Was Maya right?"

"About what?"

Zack just looked at him. "You know what I'm talking about!"

Cody smiled. "Sorry, Zack. I'm not saying a word. What happens between Bailey and I stays between Bailey and I."

Zack just looked at Cody again and grinned. "All I needed to hear. Congrats, Bro..."

Cody just looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

Zack grinned. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. But lets not act like I'm an idiot...okay, that much of an idiot."

"Zack, I didn't say anything..."

"I know, but you didn't have to. I can just tell. And I'm happy for you." He grinned. "I do have to ask...was it worth the wait?"

Cody just looked at him. "Nothing happened..." Cody's nose twitched.

Zack laughed. "Busted!"

Cody was starting to panic and feel uneasy. "Zack..."

"Oh...settle down. I'm not going to make a big deal about it. Its obvious you two aren't broadcasting this, so I won't say anything. But, I mean it...I'm happy for you. Codester, I've known you for almost nineteen years...and for nine months in the womb. I've never seen you as happy as I have since you've met Bailey. And for some reason, she thinks your great and loves you. Can't say I understand it, but its true none the less..."

Cody smiled. "Thanks, Zack...I could say the same about you and Maya. I don't get it, but as long as your happy, that's all that matters."

Inside, Addison went to the bathroom, but as soon as she did, Maya cornered Bailey.

"Okay, spill!"

Bailey just looked at her. "About what?"

"You know what I mean. Before Zack put an end to the conversation yesterday, you were about to tell us about your 'amazing day' in St. Maarten. So...just how amazing was it?"

Bailey paused and began to blush. "Well...you know...if anything did happen, that would be between just Cody and me..."

Maya laughed. "Wow...that was bad!"

Bailey frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, its obvious something did happen. You're blushing like a school girl..." She grinned. "I'm taking it you took to heart the little talk we had in New York..."

Bailey sighed. "I'm not admitting anything. I plead the fifth..."

Maya kept grinning. "Okay, I get it...But this thing you're not admitting...did he rock your world?"

Bailey's eyes went wide again and her blushing deepened. "Maya!"

Maya laughed again. "Well, well...Way to go, Cody!"

Bailey was left standing there hoping a hole would open in the floor for her to crawl into. But Maya just smiled again.

"Okay, I'll leave it alone. You're happy. You love him. And he obviously knows how to push your buttons. Nothing more needs to be said."

Bailey sighed in relief. "Thank you..."

About that time, Addison returned from the bathroom, and Cody, Zack and Woody came inside with their tickets.

Cody smiled. "We have some bad news. The movie we all wanted to see was sold out. So, we got tickets to the next best thing..."

"What's that?"

Zack interrupted. "I want to make it noted that I vetoed this movie selection, but I was outvoted."

Maya grinned figuring this should be good. "Oh? What movie are we seeing?"

He grumbled. "Zombie Mom 3D..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: To quote a truly great movie, Office Space, I did nothing today, and it was everything I dreamed it could be. But, I promise I will have new chapters of NKOTB and KTHB again soon.**__  
><em>_


	52. Back to School Part Dos

_Chapter 52_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After the movie, it was time for Cody and Bailey to head back to the hotel. Before bidding everyone farewell though, Cody warned Woody to keep an eye on Zack as he might end up sleepwalking that night. Of course, that got strange looks from everyone except Zack. So, Cody had to explain what happened after the original Zombie Mom, and everyone busted out laughing after hearing the story. Maya even thanked Cody for giving her such a juicy morsel of information. Zack tried to get his revenge by telling everyone that Cody is known to tear up at sappy romantic comedies. Bailey just smiled and said she already knew that. That left Zack grumbling and vowing he would get payback.

Once back at the Tipton, they decided to go ahead and sort all of their dirty clothes so they would be ready to do laundry once they got back to the dorm. Of course, this got a strange look from Carey when she walked in.

"What are you two doing? You're packing your dirty clothes together?

Cody shrugged. "Its more efficient to separate them together before we do our laundry. We can do all of our clothes in two less loads. That saves water and is better for the environment."

Carey just shook her head and walked into her room to change clothes. Once done, Cody and Bailey called it a night and headed off to spend one final night together in Cody's old bed. And as they just laid there before falling asleep, Cody rubbed Bailey's back.

"I hope you realize you've spoiled me now. Not having you here in my bed with me this summer is really going to suck..."

Bailey smiled up at him. "But, at least while I'm here in Boston for that week, we'll get to again..."

Cody nodded. "True...As long as you don't mind Zack being across the room..."

Bailey laughed. "If it means we get to be here like this, I'll deal with it. I guess I'll just have to be more conservative in my nightly sleep attire..."

Cody grinned at her. "While I'll be disappointed, I think that's better than the alternative..." He laughed himself. "What if Maya is staying with us too? Could be four of us in this room..."

Bailey shrugged. "What goes on on the other side of the room is none of our business..."

"Maybe I'll put up some room dividers for that week?"

She smiled. "Maybe. We have plenty of time before we have to worry about that..."

Cody smiled back. "You're right. We still have a semester to finish first."

The next morning, they were both up by 7:30 and were showered and dressed for the day by 8:30. They decided to have breakfast in the suite one last time before heading back on the road. And again, as they were cooking, Carey woke up and joined them. She was going to be sad to see them go...and not just because she hadn't had to cook at all for the past couple of days.

"You sure you have to head back so soon?"

Cody smiled. "We're sure, Mom. We need to get back so we can get adjust to being back at school again. Our first class in two weeks is less than 48 hours away."

Carey sighed. "I know. I'm just going to miss having you two around."

Bailey smiled this time. "Well. I will definitely be back in Boston in July for Maddie's wedding. And then back in August before we head off to start our sophomore years."

Cody nodded. "And I'll be back in mid May. And then I'll be here all summer except for the week I'm going to Kettlecorn for the Mulch Festival there."

Carey shook her head. "So, what your telling me is that except for a week in July, I'm going to have a miserable Cody on my hands?"

Bailey smiled again. "He won't be the only one, but we've already talked about this summer. Modern technology will help somewhat, but we already know we're going to miss each other so much."

"Well, from what I've seen, I have every confidence you two will figure something out."

Cody grinned. "We think so too. I already told Bailey it would give me good practice in writing her love letters. Hopefully, she won't think they are too cheesy or mushy."

Bailey just shook her head. "I don't think so. The cheesier or mushier they are, the better. We may spend all summer trying to one up each other..."

Cody laughed. "Now, that's a competition between us I can get behind."

Before long though, Cody and Bailey had to get on the road. Carey hugged them both goodbye, but she refrained from giving them any final words of wisdom. Everything was out of her hands now. Cody and Bailey dragged their bags downstairs, and spent a few minutes saying goodbye to Esteban. And then they were on their own again. They loaded up Cody's car, and about ten o'clock that morning, they were back on the road to New Haven.

At about one o'clock that afternoon, they found themselves pulling into a parking space outside of Vanderbilt Hall. After unloading the car, they once again dragged everything down to the dungeon. After lugging around their luggage around so much for two weeks, Cody decided he needed to get stronger or get them luggage with wheels. Opening the door, both walked in and looked around.

Cody smiled. "We're home..."

Bailey smiled back. "Yeah...we are."

Cody laughed. "You know, after ten days of some of the best food I've ever eaten, I wonder how my body is going to adjust to the food from the dining hall again?"

"I hadn't thought of that. It is after one now. Want to grab lunch and get it over with? Then we can come back, do our laundry and let our stomachs settle..."

"Might as well. Like pulling off a band-aid. Do it quick and it will hurt less."

So, that's what they did. They headed up to the dining hall, and made their way through the line. And they indeed had been spoiled on their trip. Nothing looked particularly appetizing, but they both selected something they thought would be nutritious as well as edible. They made their way to their usual table and sat down. And as they tried to eat what was in front of them, they sensed someone sitting down at the table with them. Looking up, they saw a grinning Monica.

"So...How was your Caribbean cruise? I can already see you both got a much needed tan..."

Bailey smiled. "We had a blast. We both agreed it was the most fun we'd ever had."

Monica nodded. "Good..." She turned to Cody. "And its so nice to know that I knew all about you before I got to Yale. I just didn't put two and two together before London called me..."

Cody laughed. "Yeah, about that, how long have you known London?"

Monica smiled. "She and I go way back. We've known each other for years..." She paused. "Is she still hanging around with that airhead...Casey...Kelsey..."

"Chelsea."

"That's it!"

Cody nodded. "As of Thanksgiving, they we're..."

"Well, anyways, several years ago, London was telling me about these two new blond twins that had moved in the hotel..." She laughed. "I'm assuming you're the one she used to get do her homework for her..."

He sighed. "Yep...That would be me."

Bailey spoke up. "Well, thank you for you the good word you put in for me with London." She smiled. "I really appreciated that..."

"Glad it helped. You can pay me back by letting me borrow that dress at some point."

Bailey was surprised. "You saw us?"

Monica grinned. "Of course. And Cody, if I may say...a tuxedo works for you..."

Cody laughed. "Thanks, but I'm not sure how many opportunities I'll have to wear one."

"Well, I heard you two made quite the impression on people on the dance floor while all dressed up...until you disappeared."

Cody and Bailey looked at each other in surprise before turning back to Monica. "How do you know that?"

"From London of course. You two were on the S.S. Tipton and spending the evening at another Tipton property. You don't think she knew what you two were up to?"

"Ummm...well..."

Monica grinned. "So, where did you two wonder off too exactly?"

Cody just looked at her. "You mean you don't already know?"

Monica laughed. "Nope. You two somehow slipped off the radar so to speak..."

Bailey swallowed and looked down at her plate. "Well, we just went for a walk on the beach..."

"Uh huh..." Monica studied her roommate. "If you say so..."

Cody just looked at Bailey and noticed she was beginning to blush again. So, he tried to deflect the attention away from her. "Its true. We went for a walk on the beach and stopped to look at all of the stars.

Monica teased him. "Sure those were the only heavenly bodies you saw that night?"

This time, Cody felt himself beginning to flush. "Well...ummm..."

Monica began laughing again. "Oh, settle down you two. I happy for the both of you. All I'll say is that is was about time. I swear. When I saw you two in the dance classes, you could have cut the sexual tension between the two of you with a knife. Besides, you two love each other. You did what was right for the both of you. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Now, if you two will excuse me, I'm going to go find George. Hopefully, he's done with his paper by now..." She paused and grinned. "Will I be coming home and finding the ribbon tied around the doorknob?"

And with that, she got up and walked off leaving Cody and Bailey just sitting there with their mouths open in surprise. Cody turned to her.

"Is it written across our foreheads?"

Bailey shook her head. "If it is, you and I must be the only ones who can't see it. Maya pretty much figured it out too..."

Cody sighed. "So did Zack. I tried to deny anything happened, but my nose twitched on me..."

Bailey had to laugh at that. "Really?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. But I still refused to admit anything..."

"Well, turns out I must have a tell of my own. I tried to deny everything too, but when Maya asked if you rocked my world, she says I turned as red as a tomato..."

Cody laughed. "Is that a good thing?"

"Well, I still didn't say anything, but she did say 'Way to go, Cody!'..."

He grinned. "So, does that mean I actually did?"

Bailey rolled her eyes. "You know you did...I think you just like hearing it though."

"Guilty." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "What can I say? Its a tremendous ego boost. Just like you should have one too."

She smiled. "Really?"

"Uh huh..."

She returned the favor and kissed his cheek. "Well, at least that will hopefully be the end of awkward conversations like that..."

"I hope so too." He paused and looked at his plate. "You done eating too?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah. I think I need to ease my system back into the food here..."

"Agreed. Lets go do our laundry, and then we can order a pizza from the campus place for dinner later. That should be somewhat better."

So, they cleared their trays and headed back to their room. Twenty minutes later, they had all of their laundry going with their timer set. And for the first time, they were able to lay back on their bed and relax for the first time in two weeks.

Cody sighed. "As much as I loved our adventure, I guess it was time to get back to our regular lives..."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right." She looked up and smiled at him. "Our regular lives aren't that bad, are they?"

He smiled back. "No, not at all. Bails, I love our normal lives. Its just fun to do something out of the norm and have an adventure every so often. But I wouldn't trade my everyday life here with you for anything."

She smiled back. "Me either. But, we need to put our cruise on the shelf and concentrate on what's important now..."

Cody grinned. "If you insist..." He leaned down and kissed her.

Bailey laughed. "I mean besides that..."

"I know. I just want to make sure we stay as close and connected to each other as we were on the boat."

She smiled. "We will. We just have to maintain a happy balance. Our school work still comes first though."

"Agreed. Thankfully, we both realize the importance of that."

Bailey grinned. "But once its done...well, you know what they say about all work and no play..."

Cody grinned back. "I think I'm really going to enjoy the rest of our semester..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: I spent the whole day with my Dad today like I hope everyone else was able to. So, I hope people don't begrudge me doing that instead of writing another chapter. Though, I will say...the US Open was rather boring. But, on the bright side, new episodes of Futurama begin back this week. I love that show.**__  
><em>_


	53. Learning from Another's Misfortune

_Chapter 53_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After they returned to school from spring break, Cody and Bailey had five weeks of classes left before the university's reading week to be followed by finals. So, they were now in the home stretch of their freshmen years. The first week back in classes took them a little time to adjust. Instead of doing whatever they wanted to do whenever they wanted to, they had to return back to their studying routine and being up early for classes. And fortunately for them, they re-acclimated a lot better than several of their classmates did. By the end of the first week of classes, they were comfortably back into their old schedule. Well, almost. Their usual schedule was now modified a little bit. Now, when it was time to work, they worked. But when their work was done and it was time to play, how they chose to play now included several new activities.

And its good they acclimated so quickly as the second week back was the week to begin preparing for the third round of exams. Realizing they needed to be completely focused during their studying for tests without any potential distractions, they did all of their studying at the library. In public, they couldn't let themselves get carried away with other things. Plus, when they were done studying for the night, the could reward themselves with all the new ways to relax and blow of steam that they wanted. And both were immensely enjoying their new routine. The real test as to its effectiveness was going to be round three of exams. And once again, they were well prepared and did well.

As they walked out of their final exam, Cody grinned. "I think we have a real winner with our modified study regiment..."

Bailey grinned back. "So do I. This way we get to focus on both things that are important to us without worrying about neglecting one of them..."

Cody nodded. "Good. Bails, if you ever feel like I'm neglecting you in the least, just tell me. I hope you know that would never be my intention."

"I know. And if you ever feel I doing the same thing, please tell me. I would never intend to do it either."

Cody smiled. "Well, we're done with exams...for a few more weeks anyways. How about we celebrate? How does actually going to get lunch off campus sound?"

Bailey smiled back. "Codykins, I'd love to, but I can't right now. I have to go back to get student health and get another birth control shot. I think we both want to make sure I get that taken care of, right?"

"Very true. Want me to go with you?"

She shook her head. "Nah. Last time I was in and out in ten minutes."

Cody grinned. "How about I take our backpacks to the room, and then head out to get us some take out. By the time you're done, I should be back and we can still celebrate."

Bailey leaned up and kissed him. "Sounds perfect to me." She handed him her backpack. "See you in a little while, Sweetie."

Cody headed off one direction, and Bailey in another. Arriving at student health, Bailey signed in to be seen. The receptionist advised her that they were backed up, so it might take longer than usual. Bailey just nodded and took a seat to wait. She pulled out her phone and called Cody to explain the delay. He just told her not to worry about it and just call him when she got called back so the food wouldn't get cold. Bailey thanked him and sat back to bide her time.

Looking over, she started looking through the magazines in the waiting area. There were several magazines that she had never looked at before because they usually held no interest to her. But a couple of the headlines caught her interest. One asked 'How Well Do You Know Your Man?". Bailey picked it up and read the little quiz. And when she was done, she just laughed. According to the magazine's scoring system, she knew Cody 'like the back of her hand'. She looked at several of the other magazines and found they had a lot of cliched articles about keeping a relationship fresh or other such drivel. Bailey shook her head. If someone was taking relationship advice from a magazine, they had much bigger problems.

But as she tried to find a magazine more suited to her interests, she noticed a girl come out from the exam rooms crying. Bailey watched as she made her way to a seat in the corner and sunk back into it. Not sure why she was doing it, Bailey got up and walked over and sat down next to the girl.

"Are you alright?"

The girl looked up and her make up was smeared. "No. I'm not. My life is over!"

Bailey tried to comfort her. "I'm sure its not as bad as you think. If you feel like talking about it, you can talk to me. I'm Bailey."

The girl wiped her eyes. "Janie..."

"Nice to meet you, Janie...So, why is your life over?"

"I had my future all planned out. I have a boyfriend I'm crazy in love with, and we've both been accepted to grad school at Berkley..."

Bailey smiled. "That sounds wonderful. Berkley is a great school."

Janie began crying again. "Yeah, but I can't go now because I'm pregnant!"

Bailey paused as she took that in. "Oh...Well, this doesn't have to be the end of your life. A lot of women juggle a career and a family. My Mom is a farmer's wife and raised ten kids. I'm sure you can too. And if your boyfriend feels about you the way you do about him, I'm sure your boyfriend will be right there by your side through everything. You'll both find a way to make it work..."

Janie hung her head. "Maybe...if I knew it was his..."

Bailey's eyes went wide, and on reflex, she scooted back in her chair away from Janie She was not expecting to hear that at all. "I...uhhhh...I..."

Janie looked up at her. "You must think I'm a horrible person. And you're probably right. I never meant for this to happen. I really and truly love my boyfriend. And he loves me. Or at least he does until he finds out about this. I was on spring break with some girlfriends. You know, kind of a last hoo-rah before we became responsible adults. Well, one night, I had way too much to drink and blacked out. And I don't remember what happened. All I know is that I woke up on the beach next to some guy I had never seen before. And I could tell I had just betrayed my boyfriend, and I immediately threw up. I just ran as fast as I could back to our hotel and tried to scrub myself clean..." She began crying again. "I guess not well enough. I begged God that nothing like that would ever happen again, but..."

Bailey honestly didn't know what to say. With her own adventures with alcohol, she knew how stupid you could end up acting. But at the same time, Janie had put herself in that situation. She had no one to blame but herself. Sure, there was whoever the other guy was, but since it was on spring break, odds are she didn't know his name or would ever see him again.

"Well, could it be your boyfriend's?"

Janie nodded. "Yeah, and that's what makes this so hard. Do I abort it and risk killing the child of the man I love? Or do I give birth do it and risk having a permanent reminder of the worst mistake of my life? And I know my boyfriend. If it isn't his, he will never raise it. And I wouldn't blame him. He wouldn't want a constant reminder of my betrayal. So, I damned if I do, damned if I don't..."

Bailey was speechless again. But she thought back to one thing she and Cody had constantly talked about. "You have to tell him what's going on. If a relationship doesn't have honesty, it has nothing."

Janie hung her head and nodded again. "I know...But how do I do that?"

Before Bailey could say anything, she heard her name being called back to an exam room. She turned back to Janie. "That's me. I wish I knew what to tell you, but I don't. Personally, I've been in a relationship where I was cheated on. And it stung a whole lot. But, my situation was different. By the time I found out, I was already ready to break up with him because I had fallen for my current boyfriend. So, I can't say exactly how he's going to feel. But I do wish you luck though."

Bailey got up and went in for her own shot. She shot Cody a text message saying she was called back, and then sat there and waited for the doctor. And the entire time, she thought about Janie's situation. While she did feel some sympathy for her, she knew Janie wasn't blameless. She did the deed and would now have to suffer the consequences of it. But before she could think too much more about it, the doctor came into the room.

Ten minutes later, Bailey was out of the exam room and back out in the waiting room. But by then, Janie was gone. Bailey sighed and began walking back across campus. The entire way back, she thought about Janie's situation more and more. And when she got back to the room and opened the door, Cody greeted her with a smile.

"Hey..."

Immediately, Bailey walked over and engulfed Cody in a tight hug. Cody was a little confused, but he just wrapped Bailey tightly in his arms. He just stood there holding her until Bailey sighed and unwrapped her arms.

"Bails, is everything alright? Did something happen at student health?"

Bailey sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Cody was getting quite concerned now, but he sat down as she asked. Bailey took his hands in hers.

"Cody, I'm fine. My appointment was routine. Its before my appointment though that has gotten me kind of shook up..."

"What happened, Sweetie?"

Bailey proceed to relay to Cody everything that Janie had told her. And by the time she was done, Cody's eyes were wide and he too was speechless.

"Wow..."

"I know..."

Cody paused to think. "While I do feel some sympathy for her, this is all of her fault that it happened. She put herself in that position for it to happen. It sucks, but she's the one who chose to get drunk."

Bailey nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

"Unfortunately, I bet things like this happen on every college campus every year. I wish it didn't, but it happens..."

"I know, and I guess I shouldn't let it get to me, but the entire walk back from student health, I put myself in her position. And I'd be completely devastated..."

Cody just looked at her. "You wouldn't be the only one..."

She nodded again. "I know. And I wondered if you'd forgive me. Would you?"

Cody paused to think about that. "Honestly?"

"Please."

"Bails, I love you more than anything...but, no, I wouldn't be able to forgive you. It may sound harsh and uncaring, but its how I feel. We've both experienced that pain of betrayal before, so I guess I hold you to a higher standard based on that. I'd still love you, but I couldn't be with you any longer..."

Bailey smiled at him. "I'd feel the exact same way. And you're right. Having experienced it before, there is no way to justify it. But, Cody, I promise you. I will never put myself in a situation for the chance of anything like that to happen. We know now how alcohol can affect us. Even when I'm 21 and can drink legally, I don't want to drink again unless you are there with me."

Cody smiled back at her. "Me either. On the boat, I felt safe knowing I had you there with me. If we got stupid, we got stupid together."

"Exactly. I guess I just see this as a warning of what can happen when you take your eye off of the ball. Janie had her whole future lined up waiting for her. She made a stupid mistake that could cost her everything. I know I'm not her and we aren't them. But, it is a wake up call of what you can risk losing by not being responsible."

Cody smiled again. "Well, how about we keep an eye on that ball together? You watch my back, and I'll watch yours. And Bails, I think you're right. Again, it may sound harsh, but we can use her mistakes to learn from ourselves."

Bailey leaned in and kissed him. "Sounds good to me. Now, how about we forget about this and get on with our celebration. Before this happened, we had a good reason to be jubilant."

Cody grinned. "But of course." He opened up the microwave where he been keeping their lunch warm. "Lets eat..."

After a delicious lunch, both just laid back on the bed and relaxed. They turned on the television to see if anything was on, but they weren't having much luck. So instead, they just laid next to each other. Bailey pulled the blanket up over them and sighed.

"I'm going to miss Blankie in a few weeks..."

"Why's that?"

Bailey smelled the blanket. "Because Monica was right. It does smell like you, and I find that very soothing and comforting."

Cody smiled. "Then take it back to Kettlecorn with you."

Bailey looked up at him. "What?"

Cody was still smiling. "Grandma said it would always take care of me. Take it with you and let it take care of what is most precious to me."

Bailey smiled at him. "But I'll already have Porkers to do that. I'll be able to snuggle up with him, and it will remind me of you..."

"Lucky pig...But, I mean it. I want you to have it with you."

"Are you sure, Codykins?"

"I'm positive..."

She leaned up and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I want you to take something back to Boston to remind you of me..."

Cody smiled. "I already will. You slept in my bed there for several nights. I'm not about to wash those sheets with your scent still on them..."

"I want to do more though. You know that bottle of perfume you bought me?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah..." He sighed. "I wish I could have afforded something better though."

Bailey grinned. "It doesn't matter to me. It was from you, and I love it. I wear it everyday just for you. I want you to take it back to Boston with you. Spray your sheets with it so you'll feel like I'm there with you..."

Cody smiled at her. "If you insist, then you're also taking the cologne you bought me..." He paused. "I have a better idea..."

"What's that?"

"We need to clean out two other small spray bottles. We'll pour a little of your perfume in one and a little of my cologne in another. That way, we can each spray our love letters with them. We'll be able to feel like the other is there with us when we read them."

Bailey smiled. "That's a perfect idea!" She laid her head back on Cody's shoulder. "But for now, I say we should forget that we have finals in a few weeks and then we'll be separated. I want to savor every minute together that we have."

Cody nodded. "Me too..." He smiled. "How about we finally check and see if we both fit in our shower tub together?"

Bailey smiled at him and pulled him off the bed. "What are we waiting for?"

__To be Continued...__


	54. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow II

_Chapter 54_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The final two weeks of classes flew by, and before they knew it, reading week was upon them. Of course, Cody and Bailey had been doing their reading all throughout the semester, so they spent that time studying for their finals. So, they continued using their revised studying plan during that week. And by the time finals were ready to begin on the following Saturday, they were as prepared as they were ever going to be. With two more of their classes being labs and them finishing before reading week, they only had four actual exams, and they were spread out with at least a day in between each one.

By the Friday of the next week, they had finished their finals. The dorms wouldn't close for underclassmen until noon the following Wednesday, and they had a lot to do until then. After talking with Monica again, they headed to the housing office to officially sign up for the same rooms for the next year. With that taken care of, Cody and Bailey went ahead and returned their rented refrigerators. All that was left to do was pack their things. Fortunately, Bailey had very few things left up in her room, so those were the first things to be gathered. And once they were, they began packing in earnest.

Looking at all of the books she had accumulated over the year, Bailey sighed.

"These will cost a fortune to ship back home..."

Cody looked over at her. "Are you going to be using them this summer?"

"Probably not."

Cody shrugged. "Then lets just box up all of our books together, and I'll take them back to Boston with me. I'll store them in our suite there, and we can bring them back with us in August."

Bailey smiled at him. "You sure?"

He smiled back. "Of course. Same for anything else you won't need this summer like your winter coat and things like that. Tell you what. Pack the things you won't need in your trunk, and I'll take it back to Boston with me too."

Bailey leaned in and kissed his cheek. "You really are the best..."

By Sunday morning, they had done laundry one last time and had everything packed except what they needed to wear the last few days there. The final thing they had to do was move Bailey's desk and chair back out into the common area. But before they did, they marked both of their desks and chairs so they could easily find them again the next semester. Not that they were superstitious, but they considered them lucky. And with everything done, they were free to do whatever they wanted. Bailey's flight out was scheduled to leave Wednesday afternoon at two in the afternoon. So, they were going to have two and a half days just to be together.

"Well, Bails...We have until Wednesday morning with nothing else to do but enjoy our time together. What do you want to do?"

Bailey paused. "I don't know...I just know what ever we do, I want us to be together as much as possible..."

Cody smiled. "Well, how about we dig out our swimsuits, stop by the store and head to the shore for a picnic and another day on the beach?"

Bailey smiled back at him. "I think that sounds perfect..."

So, an hour later, they were back on the beach again and having fun. The weather wasn't as warm as they were used to and neither was the ocean. But that didn't stop them from having fun. They even found a frisbee someone had left behind and began playing with it. A little after noon, they returned to their things and had their picnic. And as they ate, they relaxed and talked.

Bailey teased him. "Well, I can definitely tell your depth perception seems to be fixed. At first, you had a case of the drops, but you got much better as we kept playing..."

Cody grinned at her. "Actually, it dawned on me that the frisbee was really an exercise in physics. Once I took that into account, it got rather easy..." He paused. "You know, I should have realized that when I was younger. Most sports are just physics experiments. You know, angles, force, velocity, momentum..."

Bailey smiled. "Now you know why I did so well at baseball."

Cody laughed. "So, I finally find out your deep dark secret..."

She just sighed. "Cody, I'm so glad we have this remaining time just to ourselves without having to worry about anything else..."

"Me too."

"And I don't care what we do..."

Cody smiled. "You don't, huh? Well, I guess I can cancel my surprise plans to take you up to Six Flags tomorrow..."

Bailey just looked at him. "Really? You planned that?"

"Yeah, but if you don't want to go..."

"Oh, I do..." She grinned. "But don't plan anything for Tuesday though..."

Cody grinned back. "Oh? You have a surprise for me that day?"

"Uh huh...You'll just have to wait and find out what I have planned though..."

"I'll look forward to it with eager anticipation..."

The rest of the day at the beach was a lot of fun. But as the sun began to set, the weather started getting cooler. So, they headed back for their room. Monday was indeed spent at Six Flags. They were there when the park opened, and they left when they closed the gates behind them. But, they didn't mind so much as they were both a little tired anyways. They'd had a full day of riding roller coasters and everything else they could find.

Tuesday? Well, lets just say they only left their room Tuesday to eat. Beyond that, they stayed inside. And they had their own version of thrill rides that day. But Tuesday night, both just laid in bed next to each other with the biggest, dopiest smiles on their faces.

Cody turned to her. "Yeah, your surprise was definitely better than mine..."

Bailey turned to face him. "You think so?"

"Uh huh...I have no desire to die anytime soon, but if I went now, what a way to go..."

Bailey laughed. "You better not think of dying on me. I want to keep you around for a long, long time..."

"Then, Sweetheart, I plan on living forever..." He sighed in contentment. "I wish I could stop time right now."

Bailey snuggled up next to him. "Me too..."

When the woke up early Sunday morning, both did so with heavy hearts. Their time together was now counting down in hours. But they knew they had to make the best of it. So, immediately they began packing Cody's car. His flatscreen TV had already been taken down and wrapped in a blanket. For the next hour, they loaded up Cody's car until there was no room for anything left except for the two of them.

Cody smiled at her. "Here's our lesson for August. We can't bring anything new or I'm going to have to buy a luggage rack..."

Bailey laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Thankfully, all we have left in the room is a change of clothes, toiletries and one towel..."

"Just one?"

Cody grinned. "I thought we could share..."

Bailey grinned back. "The towel or the shower?"

"Both."

An hour later, both were clean and changed, and their last remaining things in the room were packed away in a small bag. They looked around at their room one last time. It no longer looked like their home for the past five months.

"Wow...this is what it looked like when I walked in here that very first day." He turned to Bailey. "Seems so long ago, but its only been about nine months."

She nodded. "I know. I only lived here for basically four months, but I'm really going to miss it."

Cody smiled at her. "Last time I saw the room like this, it was only a couple of hours later that my life changed forever..."

Bailey smiled back. "Mine too." She turned to look at the room. "Now, don't you go changing on us over the summer. We like you just the way you are."

Cody checked his watch. "Its 10 AM. We should go turn in our keys. Then, I should feed you before we get to the airport. I promised your Dad I'd take care of you. Want to make sure I do..."

Bailey leaned up and kissed him. "You've taken care of me for nine months now. If he thinks you haven't, I'll just have to correct him."

They locked the room one last time before heading upstairs to drop off their keys. And with that, they walked out of Vanderbilt Hall for the last time as freshmen. When they would return, they would be sophomores. Well, technically, due to both of their AP credits, they would become juniors next Christmas. Getting in the car, they drove away from campus and towards the airport.

Before they got there, they stopped at an IHOP to grab breakfast. And both were enjoying their last meal together for several weeks.

"So, you're sure you've already cleared it with London to get to Kettlecorn for the Mulch Festival?"

Cody nodded. "Already taken care of as is your flight up to Boston in July. Lets just say I was right in that I have a second job this summer..."

Bailey smiled. "I'll watch you every week..."

He smiled back. "And when you see me pat my heart, you'll know that's my signal just for you."

"I'll keep a lookout for it."

"And I'll see what other odd jobs she needs me to do to cover me heading to Kettlecorn again over Christmas break and spring break next year..."

Bailey smiled again. "You sure you want to spend you summer doing that?"

"Of course. If I can't be with you, I can at least spend my time doing things to make sure I can later..."

After they finished breakfast and just sat around being with each other, they reluctantly paid their bill and left. It was getting past noon, and Bailey had to make sure she gave herself enough time to get through airport security. Cody drove them to the airport and parked in short term parking. They unloaded all of Bailey's bags out of the car and carried them into the terminal. Once they checked her bags and she got her boarding pass, they made their way towards the security check.

Bailey sighed. "I guess this it..."

Cody nodded. "Yeah..." He paused. "You know, from now on, it might be cheaper to fly in and out of Boston. I have absolutely no problem dropping you off and picking you up from Logan International..."

She smiled him. "I'll pass that info along to my parents."

"It would just give us more time together..."

Bailey smiled again. "I know...Cody, I'm going to miss you so much..."

"I'm going to miss you too, Bails. Life is going to suck for the next few weeks until I see you again."

"I know...But Codykins, this isn't a goodbye. This is an 'until we see each other again.' And we're going to see each other again real soon, Cody..."

He nodded. "And we'll talk everyday...on the phone and on our laptops."

"Absolutely. It'll be hard, but it will make it when we see each other again that much more special..."

Cody smiled. "I know. You will call me once you get home so I know you got back safe and sound, right?"

"Of course. And this time, I promise to call you from the plane once I land. I won't forget and have you worry about me again."

"I'll always worry when I'm not there with you..." Cody checked his watch. "Its almost one. You leave in an hour, so I should let you go...even though I don't want to."

Bailey smiled. "I know, me either. But I have to go, Cody..." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him long, deep and passionately.

Cody returned the kiss with everything he had too. Finally, they broke apart. "I love you, Bailey."

"I love you too, Cody. With all of my heart and all of my soul. I'm already counting down the days until I see you again."

"Me too." He leaned in and kissed her again. "Now, go on and get out of here..." He smiled. "The sooner you leave, the sooner I get to see you again. I talk to you again in a few hours..."

Bailey smiled. "Yeah, we will..."

One more kiss later, and they finally said goodbye. Bailey made her way through security and then made her way to her gate. Taking a seat, she sat back in the chair and sighed. It had only been fifteen minutes, but she was already missing him terribly. And that's when she felt her phone vibrating. Pulling it out, she saw she had a text message. And she just smiled when she read it.

"_Love you, Bails!"_ With a picture of Cody blowing her a kiss.

Bailey kissed her phone. "I love you too."__  
><em>_

__To be Continued...__


	55. Home Sweet Home

_Chapter 55_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

About three hours after he left the New Haven Airport, Cody pulled back into the parking garage of the Boston Tipton. And the drive had been as boring as it could be. He was used to having Bailey in the passenger seat, and they would usually spend the drive talking about something or another. Without Bailey, he forced himself to listen to the radio. But he had to turn it off as it seemed like every song on the radio he heard reminded him of Bailey in some way.

Checking his phone, he found that he missed a text message from Bailey. Opening it, it was a picture of her blowing him a kiss.

"_Greetings from the Philadelphia Airport. I love you and miss you already!"_

Cody had to smile. Checking his watch, he figured she was somewhere over western Pennsylvania or Ohio by then. Once he got out of the car, he grabbed one of the luggage carts and began unloading the car. And when he was done, he found himself winded. Several of the boxes of books and Bailey's trunk were a little heavier that he had remembered them being from that morning. Pausing, he realized he did have all summer. Maybe he could hit the hotel's gym, firm up a little bit and surprise Bailey? Maybe he could even try that P90X that he kept heard being advertised. Deciding that it was probably a good idea, he finished unloading the car and began pushing it towards the the elevator. When he had trouble with that, he realized the gym was definitely on his agenda for the summer.

About thirty minutes later, he finally got the cart back up to the 24th floor. He unlocked the door and pushed the cart inside. And there was his Mom sitting on the couch reading a magazine. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Good to have you home, Cody." She got up and hugged him.

"Good to be home, Mom."

Carey looked at her youngest son. "Liar..."

Cody blinked. "Huh?"

She smiled. "I know you saw her just three hours, but I know you miss Bailey already..."

Cody sighed. "That obvious, huh?"

"Its natural, Cody. It just shows you how much she means to you. If you didn't miss her, then you should be worried. But, you do. And you two did spend a lot of time together including a ten day cruise of the Caribbean. You'll see each other again soon though. And call me selfish. I'm glad I'll get to spend some time with you again."

Cody smiled. "Me too...Speaking of which, where's Zack?"

"Actually, he's due here any time now. He and Maya dropped off his stuff earlier before heading back to load up her car. She's going to drop him off before she heads back to New York."

"Guess you'll have to deal with two moody guys in love for a while..."

Carey grinned. "I'll manage somehow. I just don't want you two getting into any mischief this summer. I know Moseby is gone, but remember Esteban is your friend."

Cody laughed. "Actually, I think I'll have a busy summer. Besides working and helping London, I decided after loading the cart that hitting the gym would be a good idea."

"Let me help you unload it then. There's plenty of room in the coat closet."

"I know. I lived in one for a while, remember?"

They began unloading the cart when Carey paused. "When did you get a trunk, Cody?"

He smiled. "Its Bailey's. I told her to pack up everything she wouldn't need over the summer, and I'd bring it back with me. That and her books would cost a fortune to ship back to Kansas."

Carey nodded and smiled. "That was very thoughtful of you."

Soon enough, everything was unloaded. Carey said she would return the cart while Cody toted his bags into his room and began unpacking. Within an hour, he was officially home again. Carey returned back to the suite only to to head back out a little for rehearsal. And with Zack not back yet, Cody figured he might as well get started on his summer resolutions. Changing into a t-shirt and shorts, he headed down to the hotel's gym. And he took his phone with him not wanting to chance missing a call from Bailey.

A couple of hours later, Cody slumped down on a bench in the corner of the gym. And he was now soaked in sweat. His first workout had been brutal, but he forced himself to keep going by telling himself he was doing it for Bailey. He got up to get a drink from the water fountain and shook his head.

"I haven't been that thirsty since Mom made salt encrusted pork and forgot the pork..."

He stumbled back over to the bench to try to rest up before heading back upstairs for a shower. And that's when his phone rang. Looking down at it, he saw it was Bailey.

"Hey..."

"Hey, I just landed in Topeka, and I'm still on the plane. I wanted to let you know I landed safely."

Cody took a deep breath. "Good."

"Cody, are you alright? You sound out of breath..."

He smiled. "I am. I unloaded the luggage cart and took it downstairs. Instead of waiting for the elevator again, I had the brilliant idea of taking the stairs. That'll teach me..."

Bailey laughed. "Well, I'm glad to hear you got home safely too. They're starting to unload the plane now, so I should let you go."

"Thanks for calling me, Bails. I won't worry now. Call me later after you get settled back in."

"Count on it. Might be right before I go to bed though. I'll definitely have to talk to you and hear your voice before I go to sleep."

"Me too. Talk to you soon, Sweetheart."

Cody hung up the phone call, and felt a spring return back to his step. Getting up, he made his way back up to the 24th floor. And when he walked inside the suite, he found Zack sitting on the couch playing a video game.

"There you are. I saw your stuff was back, but didn't see you."

Cody shrugged. "I was down in the gym. I decided I'd spend my summer getting myself into a little better shape."

Zack just looked at him. "For a reason?" He paused. "Wait, don't tell me. To impress Bailey?"

Cody smiled. "Maybe."

Zack shrugged. "Well, for the first time ever, its time for me to tell you to take a shower. You stink!"

Back in Topeka, Bailey decided that everyone else seemed like they were in a hurry, so she waited to depart the plane. Once everyone had move on down the aisle, she gathered her carry on bag and exited in an orderly fashion. Once back in the terminal, she followed the signs towards her flight's baggage claim. And once she got there, she saw her Mom and Dad waiting for her. Immediately, she ran up to them and hugged them tightly.

"Momma! Daddy!"

Eunice and Clyde hugged her back. "Welcome home, Pumpkin."

Eunice smiled. "With you being the last person to get here, we were starting to think you'd gone on to Boston..."

Bailey smiled back. "Oh, the thought definitely crossed my mind. But, I need to spend time with my family. Besides, it will be kind of difficult to keep my word with Doc Johnson from a couple of thousand of miles away..."

"Well, we're glad to have you home for the summer. Lets get your bags and go home. There are a lot of people who are anxious to see you again."

They waited for the conveyor belt to begin moving, and soon Bailey grabbed all of her bags off of it and was ready to go. But Clyde and Eunice kept waiting for something.

"Bailey, where is your trunk? Did you mail it back?"

She shook her head. "No, I filled it with all of my winter clothes, and Cody took it and my books back to Boston with him. We thought it would save a lot of money in postage. Besides, I won't need either of them this summer."

Eunice smiled. "Speaking of which, I'm surprised you haven't already called him yet."

Bailey smiled back. "Already did from the plane. I let him know I landed safely, and he told me he got back to Boston alright. I told him I'd call him again later once I was settled back into the house."

Eunice laughed. "I should have known. Is he still coming for the Mulch Festival?"

"Yeah. He's going to be producing London Tipton's show this summer, and in return, she's going to fly him here for the festival and fly me to Boston in July for Cody's friend's wedding."

Clyde looked at his daughter. "Going to be wearing your new dress?"

Bailey was surprised. "You know about that?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You're sister made us watch it with her. I have to say, you both looked very nice."

Bailey smiled. "Well, I might wear it to the wedding, but I'm not sure. I got to meet his friend, Maddie, who is getting married. And she's great. I wouldn't want to try to upstage her by wearing that..."

Clyde nodded. "Well, lets get you and your stuff out to the truck. You can tell us all about your trip on that boat on the way home."

And the whole way home, Bailey did tell her parents all about her and Cody's trip. Well, not everything. There were a few details she left out. But she did tell them about stumbling upon a nude beach and about spending an afternoon para-sailing, scuba diving and jet-skiing. She even told them she had plenty of pictures she had taken that she would show them later. Of course, Eunice noticed the ring on Bailey's finger and asked about it.

Bailey grinned. "Cody bought it for me in Jamaica as a reminder of our trip."

Eunice nodded. "That was very sweet of him. I bet you already miss him, don't you?"

Bailey sighed. "Yeah, Momma. I do. Its great to be home again, but..."

"I understand. That's a good thing though. The fact that you miss him speaks a lot to how much he really means to you."

Bailey nodded. "He does. Its been the best nine months of my life."

Eventually, they got back to Kettlecorn and the farm. And like Clyde and Eunice said, there were all sorts of family members there to see Bailey again. After visiting with them and having dinner as a family, everyone began heading back to their own homes. Bailey finally got a chance to drag her bags to her room, and Eunice helped her unpack everything.

"Do we need to start a load of laundry?"

Bailey shook her head. "Nah. We did laundry a few days ago. I should be good for a while..."

Eunice nodded and pulled a blanket and a stuffed pig out of one of the bags. "What are these?"

Bailey smiled. "That's Porkers. Cody made him for me for Valentine's Day. And the blanket is his. He sent it with me so it would take care of me this summer."

Eunice held up Porkers. "He made this?"

"Yeah. I thought it was the sweetest thing."

"You two have gotten _really_ close, haven't you?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, we have. And I know some people will say we've gotten really close really quick. But, under the circumstances, I think its perfectly normal. Back in high school, I ate breakfast and dinner here at home with the family, and I came home every night. If it was in high school, I might see Cody every day at school and maybe one or two nights a week. But at college, we only have each other to rely on. I see him in class every day, but we do our homework together and eat every meal together. The situation just pushes us to spend all of our time together, and with so much time together, its natural we grew closer and closer."

Eunice smiled at her. "I guess I can see that. You know...considering you two were spending 24 hours a day together..."

"Well..." Bailey paused. "Wait a minute...what are you talking about?"

"Lets just say I got a phone call from Carey Martin. As a fellow parent, she thought I had a right to know. And she was right. You two are basically living together, aren't you?"

Bailey just stood there for a minute. She remembered when Carey asked and how Cody chose to be honest. "Yes, Momma. We are. I know it may sound bad, but its not. I..."

Eunice cut her off. "Are you happy?"

Bailey nodded and smiled. "Beyond happy, Momma."

"That's all I need to hear then. Carey and I agreed that your both old enough to live your own lives and make your own decisions. We just want our kids to be happy. You are, and that's good enough for me. Besides, you're both are doing well in school, so you two must be doing something right. Just be careful."

"We will." Bailey paused. "Does Daddy know?"

Eunice nodded. "He does. He didn't take it well at first, but he's had time to accept that like your older sisters, you're your own woman now. He just wants you to be happy too. And while Cody isn't like the guys your sisters have dated, he does know he makes you happy." She smiled. "So, you don't have to worry about your Dad trying to kill Cody."

Bailey sighed in relief. "Good. I guess everyone knows now. Cody's Dad was the first to figure it out."

"Oh really? What's he like?"

Bailey laughed. "Lets just say it easy to see that Cody takes after his Mom and his brother, Zack after his Dad. His Dad is great, but he and Cody are pretty much as different as night and day as he and his brother are."

Eunice laughed too. "Well, I've gotten to know Carey Martin a little bit, and she seems like a very nice lady. By the way, a lot of family will be here for the Mulch festival. We're going to have a full house. So, as long as you two don't abuse it, Cody can stay in your room."

Bailey smiled. "Really?"

"Yes. Now, its getting late, and we have an early start tomorrow. And after morning chores, you begin work for Doc Johnson. You should get your rest."

Bailey nodded. "Good idea. I'll get ready for bed and then give Cody a call."

Thirty minutes later, Bailey was changed and crawled into bed. She had Blankie over her and Porkers snuggled up close to her. She grabbed her phone and dialed. And Cody picked up on the first ring.

"Hey!"

"Hey, Bails! All settled in?"

Bailey smiled hearing his voice. "I am, and I'm already in bed. Long day tomorrow, but I had to talk to you before I went to sleep."

"I know what you mean."

She smiled. "Look, I learned some interesting information a little while ago. Seems your Mom called my Mom, and..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: No chapter of NKOTB or KTHB tonight. I decided to start work on my continuation of the Graduation episode. Not sure when I'll finish it, but I'm beginning to put it to paper. On a lighter note, I have to admit that even though my law school education should make me cynical against it and despite the fact that it was advertised way too much during the NBA Playoffs...I like Franklin & Bash. I'm trying to figure out why though. lol**__  
><em>_


	56. Summer Daze

_Chapter 56_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The first few weeks of summer break seemed to drag along. For Bailey, she was up at dawn every morning to get her morning chores done before getting cleaned up to head to work. And after working from eight in the morning until five in the afternoon, she returned home to do her evening chores. Fortunately, this was how she grew up so she got back into the swing of things pretty easily. Fortunately, she was getting a lot of good firsthand experience working for Doc Johnson and got exposed to a little of everything. And working with the town's only doctor, she got to see a lot of the people she grew up around. And the vast majority of them were extremely proud of her. Of course, several wanted to hear all about living up in the big city and dating a city boy.

Of course, she spoke to Cody at least three times a day. She would talk to him as she walked to work and on her way home and sometimes on her lunch break. And every night before bed, they would usually spend time together talking via webcam so they could actually see each other. Those talks are what got her through her days. And it seemed every other day she would receive a love letter in the mail from Cody. She would wait till she was alone to read them, and like he had said, every one of them had been scented with his cologne. Yes, they could be very sappy and often Cody would include a poem that he had written for her, bBut Bailey loved each and every one of them. She would read them over and over again. And after a few weeks, she had started storing them in a shoe box under her bed. Not that she was ashamed of them, but they contained some things that were for her eyes only.

Beyond that, her life on the farm went on about as normal as it had before she left for Yale. On Saturdays, she would help around the farm and then usually hand out with one of her sisters. Occasionally, they would head into town to do shopping or see old friends. But more than anyone, Bailey found herself spending a lot of time with her Grammy Pickett. Well, that was when Grammy Pickett was actually awake as she did tend to sleep a lot. But at times, Bailey and Grammy Pickett would just sit on the front porch and talk. And one of things Grammy asked about a lot was Cody. She had been visiting another one of her children over New Years and was anxious to finally meet the young man that, according to her, Bailey was over the moon for.

For Cody, his early summer was a busy one as well. Everyday, he worked from nine until six. But that worked perfectly for him. It mean that his hours matched up with Bailey's, and they could talk as they were both walking to and from work. And he found his work at the clinic to be very interesting as well. But, that was only one of his jobs that summer. Once he was done working for the doctor's office and talking to Bailey on his way home, Cody would begin his second job as pretty much London's personal assistant. Beyond being the producer of her show, he became Ivana's official walker and London's bag holder/pack mule when she went shopping. And for the latter, it was a good thing he had continued working out.

Physically, he wasn't noticing anything different after a few weeks, but he was noticing he was a little stronger and he didn't get as winded as easily. Which was good because he was hitting the hotel's gym twice a day. He went down as soon as he woke up and again once he got done doing London's bidding. But whenever Bailey called, everything else was forgotten. And while he was writing her love letters every other day, he was receiving ones from her on the other days. And he loved reading every one she sent. After opening each one, he could smell her perfume, and it always brought a smile to his face. And like Bailey, he was storing them all in a shoe box. But he didn't put them under his bed. He placed them in a secret location that Zack would never think to look.

Speaking of Zack, Cody spent a lot of time early that summer with his brother. With both of them missing their girlfriends, they hung out with each other quite often. On a couple of occasions, they even went to Fenway Park to catch a Sox game. And both would take pictures to send Maya or Bailey. Zack did it to rub it in that the Sox had just beaten the Yankees. Cody did it to show Bailey Fenway Park and would often talk of bring her there for a game later in the summer. But more often, the brothers would just hang around the hotel. Zack even got Cody to play video games with him again. And any improvements Cody had made before leaving for college were now gone. He was as terrible as ever, and even heard Zack mention that fact one night when he was on the phone with Maya.

A week before the Mulch Festival, Cody and Bailey were talking one night over a webchat. When Bailey saw Cody come onto her laptop screen, she smiled.

"There you are, Sweetie. Just get back from taking Ivana for a walk?"

Cody smiled back. "I did. And then London gave Ivana a treat and them pushed one into my mouth too. Still trying to get rid of the taste of liverwurst..."

Bailey laughed. "My poor baby..."

"How about you? What did you get into this evening?"

"Oh, I just hung out with my Grammy again. She really can't wait to finally meet you."

"Well, I have to go shopping with London again on Sunday morning, but I'm due to fly out about three that afternoon."

Bailey smiled again. "Good. You'll be here in time for dinner. The festival goes on all week with the main activities and the corn queen announcement on Friday."

Cody smiled back. "You'll make a beautiful queen, Bails."

"I hope I have a chance to win. My Mom was queen, my grandmothers were too and several of my sisters..." She paused. "One year, one of my uncles was too, but we don't like to talk about that..."

Cody laughed. "Well, either way, you will always be a queen to me. My queen."

She grinned. "Thank you. That means the world to me."

"I have a surprise for you. I actually have really big boots to wear when I'm there. London bought so much at a shoe store that they gave them to her for free. She didn't want them, so she gave them to me."

"I'll bet you look great in them. I hope she isn't wearing you out."

Cody smiled. "It will all be worth it when I get to see you again. Besides, if I didn't, Zack would try to turn me into a couch potato."

She laughed. "Well, we'll put you to work once you get here to get that out of your system..."

"Can't wait."

"Me either. You'll be here in a few days. As much as I love your letters and our chats, I can't wait to actually have you in front of me again. To actually be able to touch you and hug you...and kiss you."

"I know. I'll probably be bouncing around the plane willing it to fly faster."

She smiled. "I think I can handle this now knowing you'll be here soon. I'll be waiting at Kettlepot to pick you up."

Cody smiled back. "I'll be there. I love you, Bails."

"I love you too..."

Finally, Sunday arrived. And after a morning of shopping, London's limo dropped Cody off at the general aviation terminal. An hour later, he was in the air making his way towards Kansas. And he was right, he was anxious and could barely sit still the whole flight there. He wasn't the only one though. At home, Bailey was so excited, she left for the Kettlepot airfield early. She got there an hour early, but figured it would be easier to pace there than at home. And a few hours after he left Boston, Bailey saw the Tipton jet taxiing over from the runway. She ran outside and watched the door open and the steps lowered. And then, there he was.

Cody came walking down the steps and saw her too. And in a scene out of a movie, they ran towards each other. But their reunion wasn't like what they would see in a movie. Both were running so hard, they almost bounced off of each other. Shaking their heads, they focused and looked at each other and laughed. And that's when they both melted into the other's arms.

"You're finally here..."

"I'm finally here..."

Cody pulled back, took her face in his hands and gave her a long passionate kiss. When he pulled back, he smiled at her.

"Been waiting to do that again since the airport...

Bailey smiled back. "Been waiting for you to do that again since the airport..."

"And I have a whole week to do it again and again..."

"I know. I plan on enjoying every single one of them..."

Cody paused. "So, you sure your Dad hasn't mentioned wanting to bury me in the storm shelter?"

Bailey laughed. "Positive. Besides, if he did, I think Grammy would bury him right next to you. Like I said, she's anxious to meet you. After everything I've told her, she wants to make sure you're real."

"Well, I'm anxious to meet her too. Her and everyone else important to you that I haven't met yet."

"You ready to head to the house then?"

Cody smiled. "In a minute. I'm not sure how much time alone with you I'll have this week. I want to take advantage of all of the moments I do have..."

Bailey smiled back. "I have no problem with that. But like I told you, we'll have every night alone. My parents really are okay with it." She teased him. "But just sleeping. We'll have to be good all week."

"If that's the price to pay, so be it."

After a few more minutes of just holding each other and sharing a few more kisses, Cody grabbed his bag and followed Bailey back to the Pickett family truck. Soon enough, they were driving out of Kettlepot and on their way to Kettlecorn and the family farm. And as they did, they continued to talk about one of the developments that had happened in the past three weeks. Both grinned as they congratulated each other on another perfect 4.0 the previous semester.

"You know, Bails...I was thinking. The way things are going, we're both on our ways to double majors in Biology and Chemistry. I was thinking this next semester we could knock out our social sciences requirement by taking a political science class on elections with the upcoming presidential election this November."

Bailey glanced over at him and smiled. "I like it. And this semester would be the perfect time to do so. I think that's a great idea, and should be a lot of fun. Maybe we'll have a project to do centered around election night? Anyways, I'm just glad we don't have to deal with five more months of Sarah Palin..."

Cody laughed. "Me too..." He paused. "You know, I might miss this part the most. Being able to talk to you about any topic. Zack has no interests in politics. Well, almost. He laughs every time some mentions former Representative Weiner..."

Bailey laughed too. "Well, considering what he got in trouble for, it is kind of funny..."

Cody smiled. "I know. But Zack knows more about who Bristol Palin is than who Sarah Palin is. If a politician isn't embroiled in some scandal, he doesn't care."

"I've missed this too, Codykins. I love my family, but we don't get into a lot of drawn out discussions about things other than the crops or other farm related things."

"Well, I'm here now."

About that time, Bailey pulled in front of the farm and parked the truck. Cody grabbed his bag out of the back, and Bailey grabbed his other hand and lead him inside. And Bailey wasn't kidding about a lot of family being there waiting to meet him. To Cody, it seemed like there was an endless supply of people wanting to shake his hand or even hug him. He tried his best to remember all of their names, but he was sure he would forget a few of them.

Finally, Eunice came in the family room and hugged him. She was followed by Clyde who clasped Cody on the back rather hard. And then Cody heard him lean in and whisper. "Don't worry, I'm not going to bury you in the storm shelter...as long as you keep making my daughter happy..."

Cody sighed in relief and Eunice said dinner would be ready in a little while. Then she smiled at Cody and told him to take his bag upstairs and get washed up. That was all Bailey needed to hear as she dragged him upstairs and lead him to her room. And when he put his bag down, she smiled at him.

"See, that wasn't so bad..."

Cody smiled back. "No, it wasn't. But I hope others don't get upset if I fumble their names."

"Don't worry about it. It'll just take you a while to get them down pat."

He nodded. "Well, what do we do now?"

Bailey smiled. "I'm supposed to bring you to meet my Grammy as soon as you got here."

So, Bailey lead him to a bedroom down the hall from hers. She knocked on the door, and opened it when she heard someone say 'Come in'. Cody followed her inside, and he saw an elderly woman with white hair sitting in a rocking chair.

"Grammy, I brought Cody to meet you. Cody, this is my Grammy Pickett."

Cody smiled at her. "Nice to finally meet you, Ma'am. Bailey has told me a lot about you."

Grammy looked up and returned the smile. "Same to you, Son. Bailey's told me an awful lot about you too..." She turned to Bailey. "You're right. He is very handsome. If I were seventy years younger, you'd have a fight on your hands."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Grammy..."

Cody laughed. "No offense, Mrs. Pickett, but I only have eyes for your granddaughter. I'm not sure how much of a fight it would be."

Bailey smiled at him while Grammy chuckled. "Is that so, huh? Well, probably for the best. I only had eyes for Bailey's Grandpa. My Andrew was one of a kind..."

"So is Cody, Grammy..."

She smiled. "I can see that. Especially after I read all of the letters he sent you..."

Cody and Bailey's eyes both went wide. "You...you read them, Grammy?"

Grammy laughed. "I sure did." She picked up a can from under her rocking chair. "I have a place I hide things too."

Bailey paused. "But I thought you used that for...Nevermind."

"Fact is, I did read them and I read for myself how much you mean to this young man. Anything else I read..." She grinned. "Well, lets just say I didn't read anything I shouldn't have..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: My apologies for falling asleep on the couch last night. My bad. Anyways, for a few days, there won't be any updates to NKOTB or KTHB. I'm trying to finish up the Graduation story I'm writing, and its taken on a life of its own. It may be fairly long if I don't break it up. Besides, I'm being 'encouraged' to finish it as quickly as possible. So, I will do my best. And in case people think I'm neglecting the other two stories for this one, I have several chapters of this story already done.**__  
><em>_


	57. Down on the Farm

_Chapter 57_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

For the first couple of days of that week, Bailey still had to go into work. Fortunately, Doc Johnson was closing his office for a long weekend on Thursday and Friday, but it didn't really matter as everyone knew how to get in touch with him if they needed him. On Monday morning, when foghorn woke everyone up as usual, Cody jumped up out of bed and seemed roaring and ready to go. When Bailey looked up at him, she gave him a curious expression.

Cody grinned. "For the past couple of weeks, I've been setting my alarm for dawn to prepare myself..."

Bailey laughed. "I bet that was a sight to see..."

Cody laughed too. "Actually, the sight to see was the death glare from Zack every morning as well as a few hang gestures. He started throwing things at me towards the end."

She just shook her head. "Okay...well, what are your plans for today?"

Cody paused. "Well, I thought I could walk you to work, comeback and help out around the farm, fix you a lunch and bring it to you, comeback and help out some more and then be there to walk you home."

Bailey smiled. "I'd like that...But, I don't think anyone would blame you if you didn't do anything. You're our guest and on vacation."

He smiled back. "I know, but I want to make sure I'm on your Dad's good side as much as possible..."

After both finally got up, Cody helped Bailey with her morning chores. And when she went to get cleaned up, Cody helped Eunice fix breakfast. When it was done and everyone was eating, Cody headed upstairs to get cleaned up himself. By the time he was cleaned up, Bailey had to be leaving for work. So, he walked Bailey to Doc Johnson's office and actually got to meet the good doctor himself.

"So, Bailey, this is the young man you keep telling me about. I understand you are planning on becoming one of us too..."

Cody smiled. "Yes, Sir. I'm actually working for a clinic in Boston this summer myself. I find it fascinating work."

Doc Johnson laughed. "It can be. Other days, you just want to shake your head and ask people what the hell is wrong with them. Anyways, with degrees with the word Yale on them, you two should be able to do just fine. What have they got you doing so far?"

"Well, a lot of observing mostly, but I've already gotten quite proficient at applying casts and drawing blood. I've had to administer some vaccinations as well." He laughed. "I think I've even got the part of distracting the kid while I inject him down pat..."

"So has Bailey. The kids love her, but I thought Old Man Johnson was going to fight her when she tried to put a cast on his wrist."

About that time, the door to his office opened, and a patient walked in. Cody smiled. "Well, I'll let you two get to work. What time should I bring your lunch by, Bails?"

She smiled. "How about 12:30?"

"I'll be here." He leaned in and kissed Bailey goodbye before he headed back to the farm.

And when he got back, Clyde was busy looking at he new rototiller trying to figure out why it wasn't working. Cody could tell he was getting frustrated as he could hear Clyde mumbling curses under his breath. So, he walked over to him to offer his assistance.

"Anything I can do to help?"

Clyde sighed. "Not unless you speak Russian. I can't make heads or tails of this instruction manual..."

Cody smiled. "As luck would have it, I actually do speak Russian. Let me take a look at the manual, and we'll see if we can figure out what to do."

Clyde shrugged and handed Cody the manual. Fifteen minutes later, with both of them working together, the rototiller came roaring to life. Clyde just laughed.

"Not bad, Cody. Not bad at all."

Cody basked in his girlfriend's father's praise. "Anything else I can do to help?"

Clyde paused. "Well, Wendy and Sally are supposed to be painting the barn this afternoon, you can help them out if you want. But Eunice told me to send you inside as soon as you got back. I believe she had some things inside she wanted your help with if you wouldn't mind."

"I'm on it."

Cody headed inside and found Eunice sitting at the kitchen table unfolding fabric.

"Clyde said you needed my help with something?"

Eunice looked up at him and smiled. "I do. I'm making dresses for my girls to wear on Friday for the festival. After Bailey showed me the stuffed pig you made, I reckoned you were pretty good with a needle and thread too. Would you mind helping me out?"

He smiled. "Not at all. Just show me what you need me to do."

So, the rest of the morning, Cody assisted Eunice in cutting fabric and beginning to sew. By eleven thirty, they had all of the fabric they needed cut out, and several pieces sewn together. And by then, it was time to begin making lunch for everyone. They put aside the fabric pieces so they could surprise the girls, and then Cody and Eunice began fixing lunch together. And as they worked together, Cody told Eunice if she wanted, he would help her finish the dresses the next morning, but he had already told Clyde he'd help paint the barn that afternoon. Eunice smiled and said that sounded good to her. But she did tell him not to overwork himself. He was their guest after all.

By noon, Cody had packed up some of lunch they made for he and Bailey and began walking back into town. At 12:30 on the dot, he walked back into Doc Johnson's office and waited for Bailey to take her lunch break. And a few minutes later, she came out from the back and saw him waiting. Smiling, she walked over and kissed him. Deciding it was too beautiful a day to spend it indoors, she lead him outside to the town square across the street where they found a bench to sit on. And as they ate, they talked.

"So, what have you done this morning?"

Cody smiled. "Helped your Dad translate some Russian instructions and then helped your Mom with some chores inside. This afternoon, I'm helping to paint the barn."

Bailey laughed. "Seems like they've put you to work already. Don't do too good of a job, or they won't let you leave to go back."

Cody shrugged. "Just glad I can be somewhat useful. I'm relieved they haven't asked me to use any tools yet. I can work with electronics just fine, but wood shop was never my best subject. I don't do tools real well..."

She smiled at him. "That's okay. You have plenty of other things you do do really well."

He smiled back. "So, how was your morning?"

"It was the usual. Doc Johnson is letting me handle stitches too. I guess its not too surprising that people getting cut by farm mishaps happens pretty regular around here."

Cody nodded. "I can see that. I just hope you don't have to stitch me up before the weeks up. Or worse, I could get a bad splinter..."

Bailey smiled. "I'd kiss it and make it better..."

He grinned at her. "Might make it worth it then..."

"I can't wait until Thursday when I have all day to spend with you."

"Me either. But until then, I'm happy to be able to spend time like this with you. This is far better than only getting to hear your voice or seeing you in pixels on my laptop." He grinned again. "Besides, last night was the best night sleep I've had all summer."

She grinned back. "Same here. I like knowing that when its time to go home, you'll be there waiting on me. I think I can get used to that."

Eventually, Bailey's lunch hour was up, and she had to get back to work. For his part, Cody had to return back to the farm as he had a barn to help paint. And as soon as he did, he changed into some old clothes he had brought for the express reason to be work clothes. When he rejoined Bailey's sisters outside, he saw that they had out paint brushes and cans of paint. Looking at them and then back at the barn, Cody realized right then and there that it was going to take forever. He stopped to think, and an idea began formulating in his mind. He asked Wendy and Sally if they had a pile of old junk they were going to throw away, and they pointed to a pile behind the barn. Thirty minutes later and a whole lot of tinkering and soldering later, Cody was ready to test his brainstorm. Bailey's sisters were taping the parts of the front door to be painted white later while Cody was spraying the other sides of it with his concoction - a handmade paint sprayer. An hour and a half later, the barn was completely painted with the exception of what needed to be painted white when it dried. Clyde came back from the field and was floored with what he saw.

"Wow...But how?"

Cody grinned. "Wendy and Sally said you were just going to throw this stuff away. I just made some modifications to make it a paint sprayer for you..."

Clyde laughed. "I'm impressed. You might could make a decent farmer yet..."

Cody laughed too. "I don't know about all of that. I just grew up with an inventor who had an eye for making the unconventional, and I guess I learned a few things from him. Anything else you need me to do?"

Clyde shook his head. "Settle down, Cody. You don't have to try to impress me. I already know you love my daughter and she loves you. I might not like the fact that she's grown up, but I have to accept it. Trust me, someday you'll know exactly what I'm feeling. But, I do appreciate the fact you wanted to pitch in when you're here visiting. It says a lot about you."

"Just want to do what I can to help out. I don't mind doing grunt work if will make things easier."

Clyde scratched the back of his head. "Well, you remember helping Bailey with her evening chores before?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, if you want, you can go ahead and do those and maybe you two could have more time to spend together when she gets home."

Cody grinned. "I'm on it."

Clyde grinned back. "And for the record, you already have my approval. So, don't hurt yourself. I can still remember when I was courting Eunice and trying to impress her old man. So, I've been in your shoes before."

Another hour later, Cody had the chores done. Of course, it took him over twice as long as it would have taken Bailey, but he was still pretty proud of himself. Checking his watch, he realized it was almost 4:30. He didn't have time to get cleaned up, so he headed off to meet Bailey in his sweaty, paint splattered clothes. And when he got back to Doc Johnson's office, Bailey was just finishing up.

She smiled. "There you are...and nice look. You could almost pass for a farm hand looking like that." She laughed. "But your fingernails are still too clean and manicured...""

Cody grinned. "Well, I lost track of time."

"I figured you'd still be painting. I've been there before and know it can take forever to do."

"Nah, we finished that hours ago. I've spent the past hour taking care of your evening chores for you."

Bailey just looked at him questioningly. "Seriously? You finished painting already and did my chores?"

Cody grinned. "Uh huh. Sure did."

Bailey grabbed his hand and began dragging him back towards the farm. "This I have to see!"

And when they got back to the farm, Bailey was shocked as well. "But...but...how?"

Cody grinned and showed her his creation. She looked at it and laughed. "I should have known. You should take a picture and send it back to Arwin. He'd be proud."

"Well, I'm just glad I didn't screw it up."

Bailey smiled. "Well, thanks to you, we have the whole rest of the evening to do whatever we want to do."

"Sounds good to me...After I take a shower of course..."

"Of course."

The next couple of days went by the pretty much the same. Cody would walk Bailey to and from work and meet her for lunch. And back at the farm, he did everything he could. He spent his mornings helping Eunice finish up the dresses for her daughters and the afternoons helping Clyde anyway he could. And since Cody was so fast and efficient at painting, he spent two afternoons painting the farms fences. By Wednesday night, he was happy he had started trying to get into shape as it had helped him from getting too worn out. And he wasn't the only one who noticed. He and Bailey were getting read for bed when she spoke up.

"I have to say, Cody...I'm extremely proud of you. I admit I wasn't sure how you'd hold up this week, but you've done very well." She smiled. "To be honest, after everything you've done the past three days, I expected you to be passed out exhausted right now."

Cody smiled and shrugged. "Must just be the fresh farm air...My lungs must be taking to it well after years of polluted city air."

"Whatever it is, I don't want you to change too much. I love you just the way you are. I guess some girls like big muscles, but to me, nothing is sexier than what you have between your ears."

"Well, yours is pretty sexy yourself." He sighed. "We should probably stop talking like that though. I'm trying to be a good boy after all. And with how beautiful you are, that's not an easy thing to do..."

Bailey smiled. "Trust me, I know exactly what you mean. I'm trying to be good too, but its difficult with you right here with me. But just remember...in a couple of months, we'll be back at Yale and all by ourselves. And I'll promise you that we'll make up for lost time."

Cody grinned. "So, you're telling me I should starting taking my vitamins, huh?"

Thursday was spent with everyone around the farm doing double duty so that they could spend all day Friday at the festival. Eunice even asked Cody if he wanted to bake his own pie to submit for the bake off. He said he'd love to and asked if you were allowed to work as a team. They were, so, on Thursday night, Cody and Bailey worked side by side preparing a pie to enter together. He even called Chef Paulo for some tips on how to make it extra special so it would stand out.

Friday morning, everyone woke up early once again for breakfast. After that, it was time to put the pies in the oven as everyone was getting ready for the festival. And that's when Eunice surprised her four youngest daughters with the dresses for the festival. In particular, Bailey loved hers.

"Momma! Its beautiful! Thank you so much!"

Eunice smiled. "Actually, I had some help with it." She nodded at Cody. "You can thank my seamstress over there..."

Bailey turned to Cody, and he was just smiling. "You helped make these?"

He nodded. "I may have helped a little bit."

She walked over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Sweetie. I love it. And I love you."

An hour later, everyone was dressed and ready to go. Bailey was in her new dress while Cody was in jeans, a plaid button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his new boots. Bailey just smiled at him and whistled.

"Looking good. And I love the boots..."

He smiled back. "Yeah, I didn't think my new tuxedo would be appropriate. But, I'll be wearing another one soon enough."

"For what?"

"Didn't I tell you? Maddie asked Zack and I to be the ushers at her wedding."

She smiled again. "I can't wait to see you in one again..."

"Well, you're looking very beautiful yourself, milady..."

"Yeah, this dress fits perfectly..." She leaned in and whispered. "One might even think you know my body perfectly..."

He grinned back. "Maybe a little bit..."

Soon enough, they were off. Cody and Clyde loaded the truck with everything for the festival along with some animals he was going to be showing. Then, it was there turn as they would be riding in the back of the truck with them. They let the ladies have the interior of the can so not to get their dresses dirtied. And for Cody, this was a first for him. He was about to mention something reports saying how riding in the back of a pickup truck was extremely unsafe, but he didn't want to risk undoing all the goodwill he had earned all week. So, he grabbed a hold of the side of the bed and held on for dear life. Once they got to the fairgrounds, everyone got out of the truck. Clyde gather the animals he had brought to be shown and Eunice helped him lead them off the the stable. Cody and Bailey took the pies over to the judging area while her sisters all seemed to scatter immediately.

Bailey turned to Cody. "What do you want to do first?"

Cody shrugged. "You know the lay of the land. You lead, and I'll follow..."

"Well, how about we..."

But before Bailey could finish, they were interrupted.

"Well, well...Look who decided to show their faces in Kettlecorn again..."

Both turned and saw Betty Lou and Moose walking towards them. And if that wasn't enough, Betty Lou looked very much pregnant.

__To be Continued...__


	58. Something Stinks at the Mulch Festival

_Chapter 58_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody and Bailey just looked at Betty Lou and Moose. Obviously, their eyes immediately went to Betty Lou's stomach and its protruding bulge. They weren't doctors yet, but they were pretty sure she was at least eight months along. And then they noticed the smirk on her face as she stared back at the two of them. She had an aura of smugness that was just radiating from her. Almost to the point they that they missed the expression on Moose's face. He wasn't smirking or even smiling. In fact, he looked down right miserable.

Betty Lou kept smirking though. "I'm surprised you had the gall to show your face back here, Bailey and then the nerve to bring the city boy with you..."

Bailey just looked at her. "Ummm...I've been back in Kettlecorn for over a month now. And I've been working in Doc Johnson's office since I've been back. Most people here in town have already seen me at least once. And everyone has been nothing but nice and supportive..."

But that didn't deter Betty Lou. "I see you wanted to ruin this festival by bringing this city slicker here with you. He's not welcome here!"

Again, Bailey just looked at her. "How would I be ruining the festival? And, from what I remember, a lot of the people around here were speaking nice to Cody and patting him on the back on New Years. And this past week, he's been doing actual farm work. Our neighbors, the Weevils, want to hire him to paint their barn next week, but he has to get back to Boston. He's been accepted readily, so his presence is not going to ruin anything..."

Betty Lou just shook her head. "Wow, you are just in denial, Bailey. Don't be jealous because I'm carrying Moose's kid and you aren't..."

Bailey just began laughing. "Trust me...Jealousy is the last thing I'm feeling. Relief maybe. Ecstatic its not me, definitely. I do look forward to having my own children though someday, but not until I finish college and medical school..." She smiled and looked up at Cody. "I kind of hope they have their Daddy's blonde hair and blue eyes..."

Cody was about to say something when they noticed Betty Lou roll her eyes and walk away. He then turned to Bailey and grinned.

"Does she always run away when she things don't go her way? Is she related to Brave Sir Robin?"

Bailey laughed. "I think she might just be..."

"Brave who?"

Cody and Bailey turned to see Moose still standing there. "Its a character from one of Cody's favorite movies. He played it for me, and I loved it immediately too. Its a parody of the Arthurian legend about the Holy Grail."

Moose looked confused. "A what of the what about the what?"

Bailey sighed. "Nevermind..." She turned to Cody. "Come on, Codykins. Lets go walk around and see everything..."

Cody nodded and Bailey took his hand. But before they go leave, Moose stopped them.

"Bailey...If I could, I'd like to talk to you..."

"About what? I don't think we have anything to discuss..."

Moose sighed. "Please?"

Bailey shook her head. "Fine..." She checked her watch. "You have five minutes."

"Alone?"

Bailey shook her head again. "Nope. I keep no secrets from Cody. I'd tell him what you said anyways, this just saves me the time."

"Fine...I...ummm...I..." He swallowed. "I wanted to apologize to you for what I did. I shouldn't have done it, and if I could get me one of them time machines, I'd undo it..."

Bailey just looked at him. "Is that it?"

Moose shook his head. "No...I'd do anything to go back to way things used to be. Before I screwed up, and you decided to get back at me by going off with this little feller..."

Bailey began laughing. "Get back at you? Moose, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but I was planning on breaking up with you well before Cody and I ever met. I was going to do that the day I left for Yale, but you wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise. In fact, I should have broken up with you a long, long time ago. But that's all in the past now. No need to revisit it. I've moved on with Cody, and I'm quite happy with were I am. I'm in love with Cody, and I'm planning on a long, long future with him. I meant what I said when I hoped my kids looked like Cody."

"But..."

She interrupted him. "But what?"

"We used to have some good times back in the day, didn't we?"

Bailey shrugged. "Relatively speaking, I guess so. But in the past year, I've had the time of my life. I've done things I've only dreamed of doing. Cody took my scuba diving down in St. Maarten. I had always wanted to do that, and he made that happen. I've dated him for five months now, and I've never been happier in my life. So, compared to the good times I'm having now, back in the day wasn't so much fun..."

Moose paused and frowned. "Wait a minute...I thought he proposed to you back in December?"

She laughed. "No, he came out to Kettlecorn to help me fool you. It wasn't until New Year's Eve that we both admitted that we had fallen in love with each other. If you hadn't been doing what you had been doing, I was going to try to let you down easy. Fact is, no matter what, I had come home with the intent on breaking up with you. But when I heard about you and Betty Lou, I wanted a little revenge."

Moose just looked at her. "I can't believe this!"

"Why not? Moose, no offense, but you and I don't really have anything in common. On the other hand, Cody and I have quite a lot in common. We get along great...and he treats me as his equal. He doesn't try to tell me what to do or what to be. He supports me in what I choose to do. We do things that we both enjoy doing. He loves going to see museums or foreign films with me. This past semester, we took ballroom dancing lessons together. And I trust him completely. We're apart this summer, but I don't have to worry about him doing something he shouldn't. And he doesn't have to worry about me either. Our relationship is built on love, trust and honesty."

"So, that's it. You don't miss me at all?"

Bailey shrugged. "To be perfectly honest, no. I haven't thought much about you since I left for Yale. I'm finally living the life I want to live. You have no part of that life nor would you even fit into it. Dating you is just one of those things I chalk up to me being young and dumb and not knowing any better. I didn't know what else was out there in the world. I do now. Besides, you've proven over and over that you have no respect for me as a person, so why should I have any for you? To earn respect, you must first give it."

Moose began glaring at her. "So, you just hate me now?"

Bailey shook her head. "No. Even though I have every reason to, I don't hate you." She smiled. "Someone pretty smart once told me that by hating you, it means I would have to let you matter to me. And you don't. I hope you have a nice life, but I could care less what that life has in store for you. But, with a child on the way, I really hope you clean up your act for his or her sake."

Moose just glared again at her, but Bailey turned back to Cody and smiled.

"Come on, Codykins...His five minutes are past up. Lets get out of here. There's a lot I want to show you."

They were about to walk off again when Moose stepped in their way again.

"I haven't said what all I came here to say!"

Bailey was about to say something, but Cody stepped in front of her.

"Look, Bailey said what she wanted to say to you. We're ready to go off and see the rest of the festival. I'm sure you think what you have to say matters, but it doesn't. Why don't you run off again and find your...baby momma."

Moose got up into Cody's face. "You don't want any of me, Little Feller..."

Cody laughed. "I think last time you tried anything with me, you ended up passed out in the middle of the barn."

"That's right! I owed you some payback for that!"

Bailey grabbed Cody's arm. "Sweetheart, don't...Don't let him get you riled up. You're much bigger of a man than he is."

Cody nodded and took a deep breath. "You're right, Bails. Come on, lets get out of here..."

Cody and Bailey began walking off when Moose began laughing. "That's right! Hide behind the Ice Queen's skirt!"

Cody stopped, clenched his fists and felt his anger rising. But, Bailey tried to calm him.

"Ignore him, Cody..."

Cody shook his head. "He can say what he wants about me, but I have to defend your honor, Bails. That's important to me."

She smiled. "And I appreciate that. But I really don't care what he thinks, and you shouldn't either." She winked him. "Besides...I have a better idea..." Bailey turned back to Moose and smirked.

"You're right. At one point, I probably was the Ice Queen, but she's long gone. I guess it just took my Codykins here to know how to warm me up and make me melt. And, does he ever..."

Moose kept glaring. "Excuse me?"

Bailey grinned. "I think you heard me. But then again, you never did listen to me. But Cody sure did when I asked him to make love to me. And did he ever. You have any idea what its like to be with someone who desires you, adores you, cherishes you and loves you completely? Because I sure do..."

Moose shook his head. "I don't believe you!"

She shrugged. "Oh well, that's your prerogative." She paused. "That means its your choice whether you do or not. And in case you think of trying to spread what I just said around, remember it would be our word against yours. There's two of us, plus you aren't very popular around here anymore..."

She looped her arm with Cody's and began leading him off. Cody was doing his best not to laugh as Moose just stared at them walking off.

Around lunch time, Cody and Bailey dined at one of the local concession trailers sat up. Both enjoyed a corn dog before sharing a funnel cake. And after lunch, they began walking around the fair part of the festival. There were the rides typical of a county fair, and after letting themselves digest their food, they hit the rides without abandon. Several times, they hit the Scrambler and the Tilt-a-Whirl. But once on the Gravitron was enough for both of them. The rest of the afternoon, they tried other of the various rides that were a little bit calmer and easier on their stomachs. In particular, one was called a tunnel of love. It wasn't a typical one as there were no boats or water, but that didn't stop Cody from coming off the ride with lipstick smudges all over his face.

Finally, it was starting to turn to evening. And all of the judging had been done, and ribbons were set to be given. Cody and Bailey found the rest of her family and stood with them as ribbons were handed out. Clyde was happy when his best pig received a red ribbon. And Eunice was happy that her pie won a red ribbon as well. But a lot of people were surprised when Cody and Bailey won the blue ribbon for theirs. The judges wanted to talk to them later to try to get the recipe.

At last, it was time to crown the corn king and queen. Bailey was getting nervous as this would be her last ever chance to win. Only girls eighteen and under were eligible. When the town mayor took the podium, he opened the envelope.

"The 2012 Corn Queen is none other than Kettlecorn's own future doctor to be...Bailey Pickett!"

Bailey jumped in excitement and turned to hug Cody. He hugged her tightly, kissed her on the cheek and congratulated her. Once he finally let go, she headed up the stairs to the podium where she received her crown and corn husk cape. And as that was happening, the mayor looked out in to the audience. Moose just gave him a look as the mayor patted his shirt pocket (which was holding a $50 bill). The mayor spoke again. "The 2012 Corn King is none other than...Moose Jenkins!"

Moose strutted up to the stage to get his crown and corncob scepter. He grabbed the microphone from the mayor and began speaking. "I want to thank y'all. I'm proud to be your Corn King. And I always knew I'd be up here with this here Corn Queen. We just make sense together, don't you think? Much better than her and the little feller right?"

There was a spatter of cheering from the crowd, but mostly it was pure silence. And the ones who were cheering were all Moose's relatives.

Moose glared at the crowd. "Fine! You all think I'm some two timing scoundrel. I admit I made a mistake, and I tried to apologize earlier. But guess what? Little Miss Perfect here ain't so perfect. She..."

But before he could say anything, Bailey stomped his foot and grabbed the microphone away from him. "And I want to thank everyone as well. And while I'm proud to be your Corn Queen, I want to formally introduce everyone to my real king. Cody, come up here with me..."

Cody stood there in surprise, but before he could say anything, Bailey's family was pushing him up on the stage next to her. Standing in front of a lot of people he didn't know, Cody wasn't sure what to do or if he should say anything. But Bailey did. She grabbed the the crown away from Moose and gave it to Cody.

"I want you all to meet a real gentleman and scholar. I'm proud to call him my feller. He is everything that we should be looking for in a king. He's everything I was looking for in my king. I'm even prouder to call him the man I love and want to spent the rest of my life with..." She gestured towards Moose. "Besides, this poor excuse for a court jester over here knows nothing about chivalry, honesty and what it means to be a man. Who here agrees with me?"

And then the crowd cheered. Cody leaned in and whispered something to Bailey. She spoke up again.

"And its come to my attention that Moose being elected king is a fraud. Mr. Mayor, would you please empty your shirt pocket?"

The mayor just looked at her in surprise and swallowed. "Ummm...Moose made me do it!" But the crowd wasn't seeming to buy his story either. He just sighed. "Fine...the king will be...the city slicker over there. The real votes were thrown away anyways..."

Moose got angry again and stormed off the stage. He tried to go up to Betty Lou and lead her away from the crowd, but even she wouldn't have anything to do with him.

"Don't touch me! I'm not even sure this baby I'm carrying is yours!"

And with that, the crowd went silent and stared at them. Bailey handed the microphone back to the mayor and walked off the stage with Cody. She lead him over to this side while he was just smiling at her.

"What happened to not caring what he thinks?"

She smiled back. "I don't...Someone wise once told me it was okay to just have some fun too..."

He grinned. "I need to be careful what I say around you from now on..."Cody nodded over at Moose. "Besides, I can tell you someone who's not having any fun right now..."

Bailey laughed. "Oh well...He's getting everything he deserves. Come on, I want to celebrate with my king. How does another funnel cake sound?"

Cody smiled. "Sounds good...My Queen. And I have to say...the foot stomp? For some reason, it just seems soooo appropriate."__  
><em>_

__To be Continued...__


	59. Cody's New Job

_Chapter 59_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After the hullabaloo died down, it was time for the fun to begin. Moose and Betty Lou had disappeared, but no one could really say they missed them. For their part, Cody and Bailey dropped of the crowns and cape in the truck and headed back to the town square in time for the dancing to begin. And that's when things got interesting. For all the dance classes they had taken, none of them were going to help them here. It seems the preferred method of dancing was the line and square variety. Cody tried to learn on the fly as best he could, but heaven help him, he was failing miserably. He was at least half a step behind everyone else. But it didn't matter because everyone respected him for trying. By the end of the night, no one of them could stop laughing - especially Bailey. Of course, Cody did promise her a foot rub when they got back to the farm to make up for the numerous times he accidentally stepped on her toes. It was after midnight when they did get home. And as soon as they did, everyone went to bed. As Cody learned during the previous winter, Foghorn never took a morning off and would be waking them up at dawn.

As they were getting comfortable in bed, Cody turned to Bailey. "Alright, lets see those pretty feet..."

Bailey smiled and shook her head. "You don't have to. Besides, they're still all sweaty from all the dancing."

Cody shrugged and crawled down the bed. "I don't care." He reached out and began rubbing Bailey's feet slowly and thoroughly. She could only lie back and sigh.

"Okay, forget what I said about you not having to. That feels like heaven..."

Cody grinned and reached over to his bag. He pulled out his bottle of moisturizer and began coating her feet with it. "This will make it feel even better..."

And he was right. Bailey just sunk back into her pillow and closed her eyes.

"Okay, I will never get tired of you doing that..."

Cody laughed. "Pretty handy now that I always have moisturizer with me, huh?"

Bailey laughed too. "You'll never hear me complain ever again..." She sighed. "Do you really have to go home on Sunday?"

He nodded. "Unfortunately, I do. I have to be back at work on Monday. Plus, next weekend is Father's Day. Dad's coming to Boston to hang out with Zack and I for a guys' weekend."

Bailey smiled. "And just what does a guy's weekend entail?"

Cody paused. "I'm not sure. I think we're going to a Red Sox game. Other than that, I don't know. I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of burping, farting and stuff like that though..."

She laughed. "Oh really? And ogling of any and all girls?"

He shook his head. "Not by me. I'm ogling the only one I want to ogle right now. Plus, when Maya called a couple of weeks ago, she wanted to speak to me. I'm under orders to make sure Zack behaves himself this summer. And I don't want to get her mad at me..."

Bailey laughed again. "My poor baby..."

"Besides, I have to return to my second job when I get back tomorrow. In fact, on my way back home tomorrow..."

"What do you mean?"

"London wants me to stop by Chicago and bring her back a Chicago style deep dish pizza..."

Bailey frowned. "I would think they have places in Boston to get one of those..."

Cody sighed. "They do...She thinks if it comes from Chicago, it will be authentic and therefore better..."

She shook her head and laughed. "Okay..." She smiled and sighed. "I can't believe its almost time for you to go back home already. Feels like you just got here..."

"I know...but you're coming up to Boston in a few weeks, so we'll be together again then."

"I can't wait for this summer to be over..."

Cody smiled. "Me either..." He paused and laughed. "How many other college students do you think are saying that?"

"Probably not many. But then again, I'm not sure many people have to spend their summer separated from the person they love."

"Remember, we do still have the whole day tomorrow to spend together."

Bailey smiled back. "Very true..." She pulled him up next to her and kissed him. "And I want to take advantage of every minute we have left together."

And they did. All day Saturday was spent together. They did Bailey's morning chores together before they just did whatever they wanted all day. At one point, Bailey took Cody on a hike of places she used to go to as a little girl. Specifically, she took him to what used to be her favorite place out in the woods.

She had to laugh as she remembered. "At one point, when I was a little girl...probably around six, I thought about trying to escape Kettlecorn. I made it all the way to here when I decided I head to head back. I found my way back my smelling the manure..."

Cody laughed. "And you made fun of the Boston subway?" He smiled and pulled out his cell phone. "Well, you were heading east by northeast. Were you planning on heading towards New England?"

Bailey smiled back. "Maybe I was. Maybe something was telling me to head towards...oh...I don't know...Boston..."

He teased her. "Well, when we were six, I wasn't in Boston. I would have been in Seattle. Now, if you would have waited six more years, I would have been there to welcome you to Boston with open arms..."

Bailey playfully slapped his shoulder. "Well, when it finally did lead me out, it lead me to you..."

"I know...I'm so glad it did." He paused and looked around. "And I hope you know how to get back again, because I'm completely lost. I was a terrible Wilderness Scout..."

She laughed. "I know exactly where we are...but don't wander too far away from me. If you do, you might come across some moonshine stills. And as much as people here like you now, they won't if they think you are trying to steal some of there white lightening."

Cody nodded. "Duly noted. Besides, I have no desire to try that stuff after what you told me about it."

Saturday night was spent around the house with Bailey's family. And it was a family game night. Of course, the Picketts already new better than to play Scrabble with Bailey around, and they were pretty sure Cody would be very similar. Instead, they played charades. And even then, Cody and Bailey were on a team...because they wanted to be and no one else had any idea what they were both trying to express.

Finally, Sunday morning arrived. And for the first time in a really long time, Cody Martin found himself inside of a church. He didn't really feel comfortable one, and it showed. Bailey just took his hand and whispered to him.

"Trust me. I know. I know a lot of what is said here cannot be backed up by science or seems to be rip offs of previous ancient religions or pagan rituals. But, its taken pretty serious around here, so just go with it and everyone will be happy."

Cody just nodded. Bailey was right. His logical mind and organized religion didn't really mesh too well together, but he would keep the peace for Bailey's sake. Once church was over, everyone gathered for a big family lunch that Cody and Bailey had helped prepare. But after lunch, Cody had to start saying his goodbyes to everyone.

As Eunice hugged him goodbye, she asked him. "When will you be back to see us?"

Cody paused. "I'm not sure. At the very latest, after Christmas." He smiled. "I can't miss New Year's Eve at the Hornswaggle's barn. I mean, it'll be my one year anniversary"

She laughed. "Yeah, you don't want to miss that."

And as he shook Clyde's hand goodbye, Clyde pulled him in close. "Keep up the good work. This week, my daughter has been happier than I've seen her since she's been home, and I know that's because of you. You just keep her that happy, and I could care less about any other newfangled gadgets you can make."

Cody nodded. "I will do my best." He leaned in and whispered. "Word is that in honor of the Cheer's 30th anniversary of its premier, several of the old cast are going to show up for a meet and greet. I'll try to head over and get you some autographs if you want..."

Clyde laughed. "Well, maybe this one time I'll accept a little sucking up..."

Soon enough though, it was time for Bailey to take Cody back to the airport in Kettlepot. Cody's bag was sent through the x-ray, but he kept it with him. He and Bailey just sat down and waited for the plane to arrive.

"Think our second airport goodbye will be any easier?"

Bailey shook her head. "No. But this time, it will be me who has to watch you fly away from me..."

Cody smiled. "I know, but in a few short weeks, it will be me picking you up at Logan." He reached into his bag and handed Bailey an envelope. "This is for you. Don't open it until I'm gone..."

Bailey looked at it. "What is it?"

"Another love letter. I wrote it yesterday. My regular ones should start coming again on Tuesday or Wednesday..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Thank you. And I promise...I'll try to hide them better."

Cody laughed. "I don't think it really matters by now..."

"Well, my Grammy might not mind, but I do. You're words are for my eyes only." She grinned. "And I think you have a fan in Grammy Pickett."

"She has a fan in me. She reminds me a lot of my grandmother..."

Bailey leaned in and kissed him. "Well, you have a fan in me too. This week has been so much better than I could have ever dreamed. I admit...I really was a little worried things might be a little awkward with my Dad, but you continued to win him over. I don't know what you said to him before you left, but I can tell my Dad like it. And you've given him an easy way to paint now. He's going to be the envy of all the neighbors with your contraption."

Cody smiled. "Just glad I could help. And I do want him to like me. I plan on being with you for a long, long time, so it will make things easier if he does. Besides...one day, I'm going to come to him and ask for his blessing."

Bailey smiled back. "Well, I think he just wants his daughters to be happy. I can't speak for all of my sisters, but I know I am."

About that time, Cody heard his name being called over the intercom that his plane had just landed.

He sighed. "I guess that's my cue. I still have to do my job as a pizza delivery boy..."

Bailey laughed. "Yeah, I guess you do. Just think. You'll be able to tell people you went from pizza delivery boy to doctor."

Both of them stood up, and melted into each other's arms.

"I miss you already, Bails."

"So do I, Codykins..."

Cody pulled back and leaned in and kissed her very passionately, and Bailey felt her knees getting weak. He smiled at her.

"One of the good things about being a twin is that I can give twin kisses. When you land in Boston, I'll be there to give you another one just like that."

She grinned. "I can't wait to get it..." She leaned in and kissed him again. "I love you, Cody. So much."

"I love you too. Never forget that."

"I never will."

"Good. I'll see you in a few weeks, my love."

"I'll be there, Baby..." They leaned in and kissed each other one final time. Bailey smiled at him. "Now, get out of here. The sooner you're gone, the sooner I'll see you again."

And with that, Cody smiled at her, grabbed his bag and headed out for the plane. Right before he entered the jet, he turned and blew Bailey a kiss. She smiled as she caught it. Twenty minutes later, the jet took off again as Bailey watched it leave.

Five hours later, Cody completed his first and last pizza delivery.

__To be Continued...__

**AN: This chapter was NOT meant as an attack on organized religion. Merely, it was how I believe both would view it based on their mutual belief in the scientific process and wanting proof of something before the believed it. As evidence, I can point out Cody's view on ghosts in The Ghost and Mr. Martin. Now, I got a review saying I had written Moose out of character in my last chapter. I disagree as I feel I wrote him as he was shown - a misogynistic, sexist, controlling jerk who always viewed Bailey as property instead of a person. But, since the reviewer was an anonymous one simply known as (), I think we can guess who it was - Tweetledumb or Tweetledumber.**__  
><em>_


	60. Fatherhood

_Chapter 60_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

The next day was Monday, and both Cody and Bailey had to resume their normal summer routines without each other. Since Cody's body was now used to being up early in Central Time, he continued getting up early to do his morning workouts before showering and heading to work. And going back to work after having been off for several days was rough on them, but they both managed to survive. By midweek, they were back in the flow of things. Their phone calls to one another resumed as did their nightly webchats. And just like Cody said, Bailey received her newest letter from him on Wednesday. Fittingly, Cody received one from her that day as well. Beyond that, their lives returned back to what constituted normal for their summers. Well, almost. Without having Bailey there with him and London being out of town, Cody worked even more hours at the clinic to make up for the time he missed the previous week and to begin accumulating time off for when Bailey was in Boston. He had begun to work Saturdays and Sundays and a couple of extra hours each day to try to make up the difference. Without Bailey there with him, engrossing himself in work helped make the time go by faster.

Of course, that weekend back, Cody couldn't work as Kurt was going to be in town to spend time with his boys. They did hit a Red Sox game, but afterwards, Kurt had a surprise for them. Unbeknownst to Zack and Cody, he had Carey pack them bags, and they left immediately after the game for a father and son camping/fishing trip. And they all had a blast on it just being three guys out in the middle of the woods of New Hampshire. On Saturday night, they were all sitting around a campfire cleaning and cooking the fish they had caught earlier.

Kurt turned to his youngest. "So, Cody...how was a week on the farm?" He laughed. "You're here so I'm guessing you survived the farm work and Bailey's father..."

Cody smiled. "It was actually a lot of fun. It was kind of good to take myself out of my element and see how I would handle it. And from what everyone told me, I did pretty well. And, for the record, Bailey's Dad does seem to like me. I think."

Kurt laughed again. "Good...The key to a girlfriend's father is not to upset them. You can make mistakes as long as it doesn't make their daughter's angry. Then all bets are off. Your grandfather used to like me, but now...Anyways, speaking of which, how are things with Maya, Zack?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Everything is going fine. I actually headed down to New York last weekend to see her. Of course, I had trouble staying awake because Cody's been waking me up at dawn everyday to get ready for life on the farm..."

Cody laughed. "Trust me. It was needed. When I was there back in December, the first time I heard the rooster crow, I was so disoriented, I fell out of bed..."

Zack looked at him. "Because we're city boys, Codester. We were born in a city, and we've been raised in cities our whole lives. Its what were used to. Its what we know. Our lungs weren't meant to breathe fresh air or wake up to a bird!"

"Maybe so, but if I plan on being with Bailey, I have to accept that, at the least, I will be making the occasional trip to the farm. I have to be able to get used to it and adapt."

Zack just shook his head. "I'm so glad Maya is a city girl too..."

Kurt laughed again. "Moving on...are both girls going to be up for Maddie's wedding?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah, Bailey is flying in on the first. London is picking her up free of charge if Bailey does a favor for her..."

"What's the favor?"

Cody sighed. "She wants Bailey to stop in Philadelphia on her way back and bring her back a real Philly cheese steak sandwich..."

Kurt frowned. "No place in Boston to get one of those?"

"Oh, there is, but London wants it authentic, so..."

Zack laughed. "Good to see somethings never change..." He turned to his Dad. "And Maya is driving up that Sunday too."

Kurt nodded. "Well, what are you two going to do with both of your girlfriends under one roof?"

Cody grinned. "Already taken care of...We've been putting up partition drapes up in the bedroom so the girls feel they have privacy in the room."

Kurt shrugged. "I guess that should work. Either way, it should be an interesting week."

Back in Kettlecorn, Father's Day was being celebrated as well as all off Clyde's kids came over to celebrate with him. There was a big cookout, and everyone had a lot of fun and ate way too much. But once that weekend was over, life returned to normal and several weeks passed by that tended to all blend together. However, Bailey's summer got a whole lot more interesting the Monday before she was set to leave for Boston. It had been a rather routine morning at Doc Johnson's office when the door busted open with Moose helping Betty Lou inside. And she was screaming her head off.

"I think my water just broke!"

Doc Johnson smiled and turned to Bailey. "You ready to learn something new today?"

Bailey smiled and nodded. "If I want to be a pediatrician, might as well assist with my first delivery..."

So for the next several hours, Doc Johnson and Bailey helped Betty Lou through the delivery of her baby as Moose sat out in the waiting room. Finally, a little after five that afternoon, Betty Lou gave birth to a baby boy. An ambulance had been called from the hospital in Kettlepot to come pick them up, so Bailey's work was done as mother and son were recovering and sleeping. Taking a minute to finally catch her breath, Bailey was sitting in her office, relaxing in her chair and talking on the phone to Cody.

She was laughing. "Yeah, it was a lot more intense that putting a cast on someone or stitching someone up." "Tell me about. I know I've read about the afterbirth, but seeing it was a whole different ballgame." "Well, all I know is that when the time comes, I have one word for you – epidural! You should have heard some of the language Betty Lou was using. I almost blushed."

Bailey was continuing to tell Cody about everything that happened when Moose walked in to her office. She shook her head and sighed. "Sweetie, can I call you back in a few minutes? Something just came up..."

She hung up her cell phone and looked up at Moose. "What do you want?"

Moose paused. "I was hoping you could do me a favor..."

Bailey just gave him a look. "Seriously? After everything you've done or tried to do, you have the nerve to ask me for a favor?"

He sighed. "You were there at the festival. Betty Lou said the kid might not be mine. Since then, she's tried to say she just said that out of anger. Well, I have to know if that's my son. I've watched enough Maury to know that there are ways to find out..."

"You mean a DNA test?"

He shrugged. "Whatever it is, I want it done. I don't want to get attached to the kid if he ain't mine."

Bailey shook her head and kept mumbling to herself. "You want to be a doctor and help me." She looked back at Moose "Fine." She went over to the supply cabinet and pulled out two plastic vials and two cotton swabs. "I'll be right back." She headed into the recover room where Betty Lou and the baby were asleep, and as carefully as she could, took a swap of the baby's cheek and sealed it in one of the tubes. Returning back to her office, she put on two latex gloves.

"Open your mouth."

Moose did, and Bailey swapped his cheek as well. She sealed it in the other tube, and put them both in an envelope.

"Doc Johnson doesn't have the equipment to run the tests here, so I'll give this to the EMTs to take with them to the hospital in Kettlepot. At the earliest, we'll have the results back by Friday..."

Moose shrugged. "If not, I can come in any day next week."

"Next week is the 4th of July. I know Doc Johnson is taking a few days off to go see his daughter, and I'll be gone all week as well."

Moose frowned. "And where are you going?"

"Not that its any of your business but Boston. I'm going to spend the week with Cody, celebrate the 4th of July with his family and then go to the wedding of a friend of ours..."

Moose shook his head and sat down in one of the chairs in Bailey's office. He looked at her desk and noticed two pictures. One was from the barn dance on New Year's Eve, and the other was taken on St. Thomas. But in both pictures, Cody and Bailey were smiling and intertwined in each other's arms. He looked back up at her.

"What happens if I'm not the father?"

Bailey shrugged. "I don't know. Move on with your life I guess..."

Moose smirked. "Easy for you to say. You had no problem moving on with yours. From those two pictures, its looks like you and the city slicker are as close as peas and carrots. Of course, after what you said at the festival, I didn't realize just how tight you two were. I must say, you've changed. You're not the same Bailey I remember."

Bailey shook her head and laughed. "No, I haven't changed at all. I'm the same person I was before except maybe I'm a little older and wiser. You just never bothered to find out who the real me was. You just saw in your mind who you wanted me to be. And I was never going to be that. As for my relationship with Cody, that's really none of your business. I shouldn't have said anything at the festival, but to be honest, you were ticking us off. We just wanted you to shut up."

Moose sat back to think. "You know, it wasn't supposed to turn out like this..."

She sighed. "I know I'm going to regret asking this, but just how was it supposed to turn out?"

Moose just looked at her. "Come on, Bailey...You're my girl and always will be. That should be you in the other room recovering from giving birth to our child."

Bailey just glared at him. "And why is that? Because you say so? Because that's what you wanted to happen? Newsflash, Moose. The world doesn't revolve around you. I know this may be a foreign concept to you, but other people have feelings and desires too. They don't base their lives on what you want. You never once cared what I wanted."

"You could have told me..."

Bailey shook her head in exasperation. "I did...over and over again. You just never listened to me."

"I listened to you all the time!"

She smirked. "Okay, if you listened, what is my favorite food?"

He paused. "Ummm...pot roast."

Bailey shook her head. "Not even close. Its chicken pot pie. Trust me, Cody knows that. Okay, what kind of doctor do I want to be?"

Moose paused again. "Aren't they all the same?"

She tried her best not to laugh. "No, they aren't. I want to be a pediatrician. And Cody knows that one too."

Moose rolled his eyes. "So, what does this prove? Nobody's perfect..."

"That's the first correct answer you've given in a long time. Nobody is perfect. I'm not perfect, and Cody's not perfect. Does he do things that annoys me? Yes. Do I do things that annoy him? I'm sure I do. But the thing is while we're not perfect, we're perfect for each other. He's the yin to my yang."

"The what to your what?"

Bailey shook her head. "It means he is the other half of me. To use an analogy that you would understand, he's the peanut butter to my jelly. He's my best friend and the man I love all in one. He's my present and my future. So, my advice to you is to stop living in the past. Go on with your life. Just don't expect me to be part of it. I have a whole new life now, and so do you."

Moose flinched. "So, are you saying we can't even be friends now?"

Bailey shrugged. "I just don't see it happening. We have nothing in common except we were both born here in Kettlecorn. And come August, I'm leaving again to return back to school. And to be perfectly honest, you've already proven what kind of a person you are." She laughed. "You don't care about other people except what they can do for you. Why would I want to have such a parasitic friendship with you?"

He was flustered. "Because of our past..."

"What past? Those times I chalk up to being young and dumb and not knowing what else the world offer. I love my hometown, but I can acknowledge that its not very diverse. If I had known Cody when I was younger, I would have wanted to be with him even then. When we saw they were starting a high school on the cruise ship, we both thought that would have been an amazing experience. I wouldn't have thought twice about leaving Kettlecorn to go to it. Heck, if they'd had a junior high or elementary school, I would have jumped at the chance to go to it too. I always knew that while I love Kettlecorn, but future lies outside of it."

"So, that's it? You're going to pretend like none of it ever happened?"

Bailey shrugged. "I didn't say that. I just refuse to give it more importance that it deserves. I was a kid then, I've grown up now. I know what I want out of my life. Its kind of like what Cody told me down in St. Maarten. The life I lived then was preparing me for the day I met him. And now that I have met him, my real life has finally begun. My past made me the person I am, and that's the person Cody fell in love with. Just like his past is what made him the person he is, and that's who I fell in love with."

Moose rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like living here you were the princess trapped in a tower waiting for your prince to come rescue you from it..."

Bailey paused to consider that and smiled. "In some ways, you're right. Are Cody and I living some kind of fairy tale? I think so. He is my prince charming after all. But we do still have our disagreements. I prefer spicy mustard, he prefers yellow mustard. I know more about working with my hands on the farm while he knows more about the culinary arts and sewing. I'm more of a country music kind of gal, and he is mostly a classical music kind of guy. I prefer Manet, and he prefers Monet..."

Moose frowned. "I prefer Miracle Whip myself..."

Bailey paused trying to figure out what he was talking about and then began to laughed. "Point is that with Cody, I see myself getting my happily ever after with him. Life with him is going to be adventure where we will face them side by side. Now, I have to be getting home now. I told Cody I'd call him back. I always call him as I walk home, and to be honest, I would rather be talking to him right now. You can check back later on the test results. Other than that...well...have a nice life."

And with that, Bailey headed home and left Moose with Betty Lou. The rest of the week, life returned to normal. On Friday afternoon around closing time, Moose stopped by to see if the results were in, and they had come in that morning. Bailey just handed the envelope to him without even looking up from the paperwork she was working on. Moose opened them and found out that he was NOT the father.

He slumped back into the same chair. "Its not mine..."

Bailey shrugged. "Well, I guess its up to Betty Lou to find the real father now. Hopefully, they're aren't too many other potential candidates."

"That's all you're going to say?"

She paused. "Well, that's all I was going to say. It does kind of remind me of a girl I met at Yale though. She made a mistake on spring break, and might have been pregnant with another man's child. But the situation is kind of different. She really loved her boyfriend and was devastated by what she did. But, she is going to have to live with the consequences of her actions just like Betty Lou is going to. I guess you don't though. You dodged a the proverbial bullet. You can move on with your life without having to be a father right now. Moose, this is your second chance. I'd advise you not to blow it.

He nodded. "You're right. This is my second chance. And I know what I'm going to do."

Bailey just nodded and went about finishing up the last of her paperwork. She wanted to get out of there so she could get home and begin packing. Being less than 48 hours away from seeing Cody again was dominating most of her thoughts.

"Don't you want to know what I'm going to do?"

She sighed and looked up. "Not particularly. If you'll excuse me, I have work to finish. I want to get home so I can pack. I leave for Boston on Sunday."

Moose got up to leave, but turned back to her. "I don't know how yet, but I'm dedicating the rest of my life to getting you back, Bailey. I don't like how close you've become with the little feller, but I guess that's my punishment for what I did. If it is, so be it. You will be mine again one day..." And with that he left.

__To be Continued...__

**AN1: Okay, my last one of these was didn't turn out so well because I initially forgot to add the word 'NOT'. It wasn't my attention to offend anyone with my comments about religion. I was merely pointing out that based on what has been shown of the characters, I don't find either Cody or Bailey to be religious. In fact, both have shown to put much more stock into what science says. And no, science and religion aren't necessarily exclusive of each other. But, they both tend to be people who want concrete proof of something for them to believe it. And like I said before, the bible is hard to prove with concrete facts, and most things have to be accepted by faith. I think trying to portray them as religious would go against everything we know about the characters.**

**AN2: This is the last I will say on the character of Moose. I don't feel I have written him out of character in the least. He appeared in only two episodes, and both times, he was portrayed as a sexist, chauvinistic, misogynistic person. In Bailey's own dream, that is how she saw him. He was shown to take rejection extremely poorly in both situations. Of course, as he was only shown in two episodes, not much else his character is known. But, I believe I have written him consistent with what he was shown to be. There is room to tweak his character as long as it was consistent with what his shown. This is true for any character who was only shown once or twice such as Armando or Willa among others. As for the major characters, I feel there is no room to change them as we know who they are, the personalities and what makes them tick. Merely, we can expound upon those character traits, but I would never have them do anything inconsistent with who they are. Someone said I had Bailey act too harshly. I disagree. I believe I had her acting consistent to who she was in the situation she found herself in. Bailey has shown to have a little snark and the willingness to stand up for herself and the people she cares about. So, to quote Forrest Gump...that's all I've got to say about that.**__  
><em>_


	61. Back to Boston Part Cinq

_Chapter 61_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After Moose dropped his bomb and left, Bailey just sat there in shock and surprise. She thought he had finally understood that he had no role in her life. What did she have to do to get him to see that she loved Cody? Hadn't she made that perfectly clear? She shook her head though and sighed. She knew she shouldn't be too surprised as it appeared that once again he failed to listen. But she wasn't going to let it bother her. She had far more important matters to think about. So, Bailey put Moose's declaration on the back burner, finished up her paperwork, and headed home. And on the way, she called Cody and told him everything that had just happened. He told her to try to ignore him, but not to take him lightly. She agreed, but all she wanted to talk about was the fact that she was going to see him in a matter of hours.

On Sunday, Bailey was all packed and ready to head to Boston. Her parents dropped her off at the Kettlepot airport and waited with her until the Tipton jet landed. When it did, they hugged her goodbye and wished her a safe and fun trip. Clyde told her not to worry about Moose, and that if he tried anything funny, Moose would have to deal with him. Truth be told, Bailey was glad to get away from the craziness of Kettlecorn of the past week. So after a quick stop in Philadelphia where she picked up a thermal bag holding her delivery, Bailey was on her way to Boston. And a little over an hour later, she landed at the general aviation terminal at Logan International Airport. And as soon as she exited the plane, she saw Cody standing there smiling at her. Immediately, she ran over and threw her arms around him as he picked her up and twirled her around.

"Welcome back to Boston, Baby."

Bailey smiled. "Good to be back."

Cody leaned in and kissed her, one identical to the one he gave her before he left from Kettlecorn a few weeks prior. "Told you I had another one waiting for you..."

"Yeah, you did...and you delivered. You have no idea how much I needed that."

"Still worrying about what that neanderthal is going to try to do?"

She sighed "I can't help it. I love my life that way it is right now. I'm afraid he's going to do something to try to ruin it..."

Cody shook his head. "Don't let him get to you." He smiled. "Besides, you're on vacation now. Time for you to relax and have some fun...with me."

She smiled back at him. "I know. And I'm looking forward to that more than you know." Bailey laughed. "But first, I have a delivery of my own to make..."

Cody laughed too. "Yes, you do. Lets get you back to the hotel then so you can get it done and over with."

Thirty minutes later, Bailey dropped off her delivery to London. And after that, she and Cody returned to the 24th floor to relax. And immediately, Bailey laid back on the couch with her head in Cody's lap as he massaged her temples.

"Better?"

"A thousand times so...How is it you know exactly how to relieve all of my stress and take care of me?"

He smiled. "Because I love you."

She smiled up at him. "I know you do...And I love you too." She closed her eyes and sighed in contentment. "Not that I'm complaining, but where is everyone else?"

"Mom's at rehearsal and Zack is downstairs waiting for Maya to get here."

Bailey nodded. "I look forward to seeing everyone again, but I want to enjoy this time alone with you as much as I can. After this past week, I need some degree of sanity back in my life."

Cody grinned and teased her. "Yet, you're here with me...And as I recall, you have told me before that I was crazy on numerous occasions..."

Bailey opened her eyes and laughed. "Yes, you are. But, then again, so am I. Just so happens our levels of insanity are a perfect match for each other. I think we both walk that fine line between genius and insanity quite well. We each have the other to keep us from straying to far away from it." She paused . "I just wish a certain someone would accept that you're my perfect match."

He continued to massage her temples. "I know. But you're here with me now, and he's over a thousand miles away. And if he tries anything when you get back, I'll be on the next flight out I can get, and he'll learn firsthand how formidable of a team we are..."

A couple of hours later, Maya finally arrived in from New York City. And once she did, everyone hung out in the suite catching up each other on their summers so far. Of course, Zack was laughing as Bailey told more of the details of Cody's trip to Kettlecorn that he had neglected to tell such as his unsuccessful attempts at line dancing. And then she filled them in on the saga of Moose and Betty Lou and how she had helped deliver the baby. Finally, Bailey told them about the DNA test, and that it proved Moose was not the father. And then she told them about his declaration."

Zack laughed. "Sounds like an episode of Jerry Springer..."

Maya rolled her eyes. "You would know. You watch that show every day when you get out of class..." She turned to Bailey. "So, what are you going to do?"

Bailey shrugged. "If it comes down to it, I'll have to remind him I've once neutered a bull with my bare hands. I figure a Moose shouldn't be too much different that a bull. Unfortunately, out of everything that's happened, I feel the sorriest for that child. So young, and he's stuck with Betty Lou for a mother and has no idea who his father is right now. I fear he's already starting out in life that far behind..."

Maya nodded too. "Sounds like it. But, it happens across the country every day. That's why I think I'm going to major in social work or nonprofit management. I want to do something to help people. After high school, I almost went into the peace corps. But my Dad said if I would go to college first, he would pay for everything. So, here I am..."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, kind of why I want to be a pediatrician. So, I can help kids too."

Zack shook his head. "I keep telling the Codester he needs to go into plastic surgery. Big bucks plus no late night calls for emergencies..." Zack grinned. "...plus the other perks."

Maya glared at him, but Cody held up his hands. "Hey...I still have several years before I have to figure out if I want a specialty. I still may go general practice..."

Bailey smiled at him and teased him. "But you haven't ruled out plastic surgery, have you?"

Cody paused. "Well, no...but there's more to it than nips, tucks and augmentations. There's fixing deviated septums and cleft palates and burns with skin grafts..."

She laughed. "I know...I was just teasing you, Codykins."

He grinned back. "Besides, I don't think I could do the other part of it. To me, the image of perfection is you, but there is only one of you. I wouldn't want to be making clones of you as you are one of a kind..."

Bailey leaned in and kissed his cheek while Maya laughed. "Good answer, Cody..."

After having dinner together and then hanging out some more, everyone called it a night. The ladies were tired from their trips. And while Bailey and Maya were on vacation, Cody and Zack still had to work on Monday and Tuesday. And like the boys had said, there were now divider curtains up in the twins' room giving each couple a little privacy. As Bailey snuggled in next to Cody, she paused and looked up to him.

She whispered. "Why does your bed smell like perfume?"

Cody grinned and whispered back. "Because its your perfume. I spray it on my bed so it smells like you are here with me each night. Otherwise, I don't think I'd ever get to sleep..."

She smiled and leaned over and kissed him. "Well, you have the real thing with you for a week."

"I know. I just wish I didn't have to work tomorrow so I could sleep in with you."

"Me too, but I'm just going to do what you did in Kettlecorn. I'll walk you to work, meet you for lunch and then come walk you home."

Cody smiled. "I'd like that. But, what are you and Maya going to do while we're at work? No farm chores here that need to be done..."

Bailey shrugged. "We'll find something to do." She smiled and teased him. "Maybe we'll stick around and clean the suite?"

Cody just gave her a look. "Trying to say something about my housekeeping?"

She laughed. "Nope. No clue what we'll do. I might get online and try to see what classes are being offered next semester that we'll need and try to arrange us a schedule."

Cody nodded. "Probably a good idea..."

"You trust me to do that?"

He smiled again. "Of course. Bails, I'd trust you with my life."

She smiled back. "As I would you with mine..."

Cody was about to say something when they both heard Zack's voice.

"Will you two whisper your sweet nothings to each other a little quieter? Someone of us are trying to sleep!"

Cody and Bailey looked at each other, and both did their best not to laugh. Both decided that it probably was time to go to sleep.

The next morning, Cody and Zack had to be up to get to work fairly early. And while everyone else was still sleeping, they fixed breakfast. Well, Cody did and let Zack claim he helped. Since Zack had to take the subway to get to his summer job, he left a little earlier. Cody was going to let Bailey sleep in, and he was about to grab his bag and head out when he saw the bedroom door open again. Bailey had thrown back on her clothes from the previous day and smiled at him.

"Where do you think you're going? I told you I was going to walk you to work..."

Cody smiled. "I know, but you were sleeping peacefully, and I didn't want to wake you up."

"I appreciate that, but I can sleep later if I want. After I eat the breakfast you made of course. Come on, lets get going or you'll be late."

"Yes, Dear. First though..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. "You take these. This way you and Maya can get in and out of the suite, and you can take my car if you two want to go out."

Bailey laughed. "Me drive on these streets? You're joking, right?"

Thirty minutes later, Bailey returned back to the suite. And it was a good thing Cody showed her which key was what as everyone else was still asleep. So, she decided to go ahead and get cleaned up for the day. And by then, Maya was beginning to wake up as well. Bailey just shook her head. She and Cody were both morning people while it looked like Zack and Maya were not. She figured with twins as different as night and day, it did make sense that they would be attracted to different types of girls. As Bailey was reheating breakfast, both Maya and Carey re-emerged from the respective bedrooms. And Carey was still half asleep herself.

"So, what are you two girls planning on doing today?"

Both shrugged. "Besides meeting Cody for lunch, I have nothing planned."

May shook her head. "Nothing here either..."

Carey smiled. "Well, how does a matinee movie sound? My boys used to be my movie buddies, but that changed once they got interested in girls." She paused. "In fact, they were quite clear about not wanting me to go with them any longer." She shrugged. "Anyways, maybe there's a movie we all would like to see that we know Arwin, Zack and Cody have no interest in seeing whatsoever A gals' afternoon out if you will."

Bailey and Maya were agreeable, and with that, they had plans for the afternoon. Carey figured it would be a good chance to continue to bond with her sons' girlfriends. And Bailey and Maya both figured it was a chance to further get to know their boyfriends' mother. After Bailey returned from having lunch with Cody, the ladies were off. And they were right. The movie they chose to see was such a tear jerking chick flick that even Cody had said he would pass on seeing it.

When they returned back to the hotel, they saw someone they recognized. Standing at the front desk was none other than Maddie. The three ladies walked over to say hello to her. Immediately, Maddie hugged Carey and Bailey and finally got to meet Maya.

"So, you are real. I'd heard someone had finally tamed Zack, but I wanted to see it with my own two eyes first."

Maya laughed. "Yeah...everybody keeps telling me that."

Maddie laughed too. "Its just I remember Zack thinking he was a little Lothario when he was twelve. Makes me feel old to see both of them in college now with serious girlfriends..."

Carey rolled her eyes. "You think it makes you feel old?"

Maddie grinned. "I almost forgot to ask...How's Arwin?"

Carey sighed. "He's just fine...How about we change the subject and talk about something else that's making me feel old – you getting married on Saturday."

"I know. I should be completely stressed out right now, but London hired a wedding coordinator to take care of everything. I just have to get fitted for my gown again on Thursday."

Bailey smiled. "Oh well. With Cody and Zack having to work tomorrow, I was going to volunteer to do anything you needed to be done."

Maddie smiled back. "I appreciate that. Tell you what though. London is having a ladies day out tomorrow. Manicures, pedicures, hair appointments and a spa treatment. I'd love it if you all would join us. A chance to catch up and get to know each other better."

Everyone seemed to think that was a really good idea. By then, Maddie had to be dropping her things off with the bellhop and had to go meet up with Trevor and the wedding coordinator one more time. Bailey checked her watch, and it was time for her to get moving to go meet Cody when he got off work. So, she bid everyone goodbye and headed out. And she arrived at the clinic right as Cody was leaving for the day. They greeted each other with a kiss and began walking back.

"So, what did you end up getting into today?"

Bailey was excited as she told Cody about the movie she, Maya and Carey had seen that afternoon. And listening to her describe it, he was glad he had missed out on it. Of course, Bailey kept talking about how she was going to buy it when it came out on DVD. Cody could just keep smiling as he realized he wasn't going to miss out on it afterall. Finally, Bailey told him about them running into Maddie and her offer for the next day. Cody paused.

"So, while you were at work, I worked my butt off on the farm. But while I'll be at work, you'll have gone to a movie and get a day of pampering tomorrow?"

She smiled. "Exactly!"

Cody shook his head. "Yeah, that seems fair..."

Bailey laughed and rubbed his back. "Look at it this way though, Sweetie. For the rest of the night, I'm all yours. And once you're done with work tomorrow, I'll be all yours again too. And then, the rest of the week, all yours yet again..."

Cody laughed. "That is true. Oh well...since you are the corn queen, I guess you should be treated as such." He paused. "Oh, I almost forgot. My boss is going out of town for a long weekend, so he gave me his four tickets for the Red Sox game against the Royals on Friday. You want to go?"

Bailey smiled. "I'd love to! Though, since it is the Royals, I'll be rooting for them. They are my hometown team afterall..."

Cody smiled back. "Maybe for now. I hope you know I'm going to do everything in my power to convert you to the Red Sox Nation. You know...help you see the light."

"Uh huh. It didn't work with the Chiefs and Patriots. Why do you think it'll work now?"

"Because, to be quite honest, the Royals suck. And they have since well before we were both born..."

Bailey smirked back. "At least they haven't gone 86 years without winning a World Series. When they have, talk to me then!"

Cody smirked back. "The Sox have won two World Series in the past ten years. For that matter, in the past ten years, Boston has won two World Series, three Super Bowls, an NBA championship and a Stanley Cup. Now, Tell me...how many times in the same time span have the Royals even finished with a winning record?"

Bailey just looked at him. "You know as well as I do that sports are cyclical...Besides, Kansas City is a small market team."

He laughed. "Why don't you ask Cub fans how long there cycle's been going on? Not to mention the entire city of Cleveland. Besides, Minnesota, Cleveland, Detroit and essentially the White Sox are small market teams to, and they've found ways to win." Cody paused and smiled. "How about a bet then?"

"Name it!"

"I'm willing to bet that by the time we graduate medical school that not only will the Royals not have a winning record any season, they won't even finish in the top three of their division."

Bailey smiled back. "I'll take that bet. Name your terms!"

"Simple. If they don't, you'll happily convert to the Red Sox Nation."

"And if they do?"

"You tell me. What do you want in return?"

Bailey grinned. "Easy. You renounce being a Patriots fan and become a Chiefs fan like me."

Cody paused and stuck out his hand. "Deal!"

Bailey shook it and laughed. "Deal! You'll enjoy being a Chiefs fan. They already have red as a color, so you should adapt quite well."

Cody laughed too. "And you'll enjoy being a Red Sox fan. But, having your team constantly be a winner might be a shock to your system..."

Bailey just looked at him. "Careful, Sweetie...You haven't won anything yet..."

Cody just smiled at her. "Yeah, I have...I already won the most important thing. Everything else would just be gravy..."

Bailey had to smile back. You're right..."

"It doesn't matter who wins..." He grinned. "Besides, you're going to look amazing in a Red Sox jersey..."

"Cody!"

__To be Continued...__


	62. Return of an Old Friend

_Chapter 62_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

On Tuesday morning, Cody and Zack were up early again to head to their final day of work for the week. The ladies were up early as well as they had a full day ahead of them themselves too. While Bailey walked Cody to work, Maya and Carey took their turns in the shower and getting ready. Bailey told Cody she wouldn't see him for lunch, but Cody told her just to have a good time getting pampered. She smiled when she said she probably wouldn' t have fun, but when Cody offered to trade places with her for the day, she quickly declined. He didn't care though as he was pretty sure he was going to like the results when he got home later. And a little after ten o'clock, Maya, Bailey and Carey met up with Maddie and London to begin their days.

First up on their agenda was the spa treatment. And of course, with London involved, it meant using the hotel's spa completely free of charge. As everyone was laying in a mud bath, Bailey couldn't help but laugh.

"The pigs on the farm do this all day, and I seriously doubt people think they look better when they get out..."

London just looked at her. "Yeah, but that's mud. Its dirty..."

Bailey was about to say something, but she decided against it. That's when Carey spoke up. "Besides, it feels good and refreshing. This summer has been a scorcher around here."

Bailey nodded. "Good thing we aren't pigs then. They don't have sweat glands, so they wallow around in their own feces to stay cool..."

Maya turned to look at her and laughed. "No offense to pigs, but I think I'll stick with air conditioning."

Following the mud bath was the massages. To Bailey, it actually felt pretty good, but she still preferred Cody's ones instead. He knew just what to do to get her to relax and the just the right spots to hit. But, he had never served her cucumber sandwiches and tea while he did it, so that was the one thing the spa had over on him. Of course, she did laugh to herself when she realized he would if she asked him to. By about one o'clock that afternoon, the ladies were done with their spa treatment for the day. Now, it was time for even more pampering.

Maya spoke up. "So, where is this salon we're all going to?"

London laughed. "Going? I'm London Tipton. Everything is coming to us. We just have to go to my suite, and the professionals will come to us."

And she was right. Within fifteen minutes, everyone either had someone either working on their hair or nails. In fact, there was even someone there to give wax jobs if anyone wanted one. Of course, those who were brave enough for one could be heard screaming from the next room. Fortunately, no one took Kelly Clarkson's name in vain. By late that afternoon, all five ladies looked absolutely stunning.

As Bailey was waiting for everyone else to finish up, she happened to check her watch and noticed it was getting close to 6:00 PM.

"I hate to mani and run, but I need get going so I can meet Cody when he gets off work. I missed lunch with him today, and I don't want to miss another minute I have with him while I'm here..."

Naturally, that caused her to get some ribbing from the other women, but she didn't care. She simply just got up and left with a smile on her face. Making her way out of the hotel, she began her walk towards the clinic Cody was working at. And along the way, she experienced something she thought was only an urban myth – she received catcalls and whistles from construction workers on a building site. Bailey just shook her head and laughed about it as she continued on her way. When she got to the clinic, Cody was just finishing up some paperwork so he could call it a week. But when he saw her, he froze in his tracks and just stared at her. He too had to whistle.

"Wow...You look absolutely beautiful!"

Bailey smiled at him. "Thank you, Sweetie. I'm glad you think so..." She laughed. "Of course, yours wasn't the first whistle I got. I thought it was one of those things Hollywood made up, but as I passed a construction site, I got some too. I didn't know that actually happened."

Cody laughed too. "Well, who could blame them? You have any idea how amazing you look?" He paused. "Well, not that you usually don't, because you do. Its just that..."

Bailey put her hand up to his mouth. "Cody, I know what you mean. Now, are you ready to get out of here?"

Cody just nodded enthusiastically. Bailey just shook her head and smiled at him. "Lets get going."

And with that, they were off back towards the hotel. But since they had nowhere pressing to be, they just took their time and chatted was they strolled home holding hands. Cody had to tease her though.

"I'm guessing the water park is out this week then. Maddie would kill me if I messed up your new hairstyle before her wedding on Saturday. The pool would be okay, but some of those slides might do some damage..."

Bailey laughed. "I guess so, but I definitely want a rain check for when I get back in August."

"Count on it. And when you get back in August, I'll be done with my summer job...well, my main one anyways. I'll have the whole time to spend with you. We can do anything you want to do..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Sounds good to me..."

Cody teased her again. "Even if it includes more spa treatments and the like..."

She laughed again. "I don't know about that. It was nice and all, but I'm not sure those are something I want to include in my regular routine."

He shrugged. "Either way, it doesn't matter to me. I love you just the way you are."

"I feel the same way about you..." She paused and smiled. "...even if you have become more muscular this summer..."

Cody just looked at her surprised. "You can tell? I haven't been able to notice any differences..."

"Of course I can tell. I'm the one who's been holding on to you at tight. I can definitely tell you are more toned and firm. But like I said, it doesn't matter to me, so I didn't say anything. I do have to ask why did you do it though?"

Cody paused. "Well, I noticed when we got back to New Haven that after carrying around our luggage for two weeks that I was having trouble lugging it all around. And when I tried to unpack our books and your trunk when I got back to Boston and got winded, I knew it was time to do something. So, I've been working out everyday this summer. Well, except for the days I was in Kettlecorn, but I figured working on the farm was a good substitute..."

Bailey smiled. "Are you happier with the new, stronger you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I mean, Zack's stopped cracking his jokes about me having the upper arm strength of a gerbil, so that's nice."

"Well, you've never heard any complaints from me before..." She grinned. "...but, I'd be lying if I said I can't wait to see the results at the end of the summer. If the results are good, I'll start letting you carry my books to and from class for me."

Cody laughed. "Alright, deal...And, speaking of classes, I'm guessing with your pampering and movie day with Mom, you didn't have time to find a schedule for us, huh?"

She shook her head. "Nope, not yet...But, this way, we'll have a chance to do it together."

He smiled. "I will look forward to doing that together then. But, not tomorrow though. Boston takes the 4th of July pretty seriously." He grinned. "For some reason, its a very patriotic city."

Bailey grinned back. "Gee...I wonder why?"

"Well, I hope you like orchestra music and fireworks. I was thinking we could check out the Boston Pops Firework Spectacular tomorrow night down by the river."

Bailey got excited. "I think that sounds perfect!"

"Good. We'll have to go early to get wristbands and find us a good spot. We have to back there by 6:00 PM as that's when they close the gates. But I was thinking we could take a picnic dinner to share while we enjoy it. And before that, there are all kinds of events going on around the city. I believe they are even reenacting the Boston Tea Party tomorrow morning."

Bailey smiled. "I can already tell tomorrow is going to be great. I'm getting excited already knowing I'm going to be spending our nation's birthday in a place where a lot of it all got started."

Cody smiled back at her. "Well, until then, what sounds like fun tonight?"

"Well, I saw where other festivals were going on all over the city. Why don't we get back to the hotel, get changed and go see what we can find. I think there are even some rides like we had at the Mulch Festival."

"Now, its my turn to think that sounds perfect."

Bailey was about to say something back when they were both interrupted.

"Well, well...if it isn't the same chickadee from earlier...Looking fine today, baby."

Both Cody and Bailey turned and saw a guy in a hard hat and a shirt with no sleeves. They decided to ignore him and continue walking on past him. But he wasn't deterred. He ran to get in there way.

"Where you going, doll face?"

Bailey rolled her eyes. "My BOYFRIEND and I are going back to his place...alone."

The guy started laughing. "This is your boyfriend? You can do so much better..."

Bailey just glared at him and reached inside her purse. "I suggest you get out of our way before I get upset..."

He continued laughing. "Its almost the 4th...why don't you declared your own independence from this guy..."

Cody stepped in front of Bailey. "You heard the lady. Trust me. You don't want to see her get upset. Did you know she once castrated a bull with her bare hands?"

"Maybe she can, what about you, you..." He noticed the scrubs Cody was wearing. "...scrub. How fitting."

Cody smirked. "At least I don't look a reject from the Village People."

The guy glared at Cody and balled his fists. But before he could do anything, something happened. From the corner of his eye, Cody saw something appeared to dive bomb the guy. Cody and Bailey just stood there looking on in awe as it looked like the guy was being attacked from the air. Everything was happening so fast that they really couldn't tell what was going on. Next thing they knew, they guy was running off screaming with his shirt ripped to shreads.

Cody turned to Bailey. "Did you do that?"

She shook her head. "Uh uh...I thought it was you."

"Wasn't me. I was about to, but...you know."

Bailey was about to say something when two birds swooped down and landed right in front of them. Bailey took a step back when she realized they were two hawks. But Cody just stared at them. One of them in particular caught his attention. It looked really familiar, and then it finally dawned on Cody why it did.

"Bubba?"

One of the hawks looked up and screeched at him. Cody just shook his head and began laughing. Bailey gave him a look of complete bewilderment.

"Ummm...Cody?"

Cody smiled. "Bails, you remember me telling you about the egg I incubated and hatched. This is it...this is Bubba."

Bailey looked down at the hawk and back up at Cody. "How can you be sure?"

Bubba screeched again. Bailey just held up her hands and took a step back. "Good enough for me!"

Cody laughed again. "Bubba, this is my girlfriend, Bailey. Bails, this is my baby boy, Bubba." Cody noticed the other hawk next to him. "Huh...Maybe Bubba's grown up and gotten a girlfriend himself? Someone you'd like to introduce to us, Bubba?"

Bubba screeched again, and the other hawk did as well.

Cody nodded. "Nice to meet you too. You better take good care of my boy here. And Bubba, you take care of her and treat her right. I raised you to be a gentleman. Bring her a nice plump field mouse every once in a while to let her know you care."

Bailey was still just standing there shaking her head taking everything in. "Okay, this is really weird...Codykins, you're talking to a hawk."

Cody raised his eyebrow. "Bails, I've seen you talk to the animals on the farm myself. How is this any different?"

She paused. "Touche..."

Cody smiled and turned back to Bubba. "Well, Bubba and...Bubbette, thanks for the assistance. I think I could have taken him though..."

Bubba screeched again.

"Well, that may be your opinion, but I disagree. Anyways, we do appreciate your help. If you two are ever in New Haven, Connecticut, stop by and see us. Vanderbilt Hall on Yale's campus."

And with that, Bubba and Bubbette screeched one last time and flew off. Cody turned back to Bailey.

"Well, I guess you just never know who you'll run into, huh?"

Bailey shook her head again. "Never seen anything like it before..." She laughed. "Should I call you Beastmaster now?"

Cody laughed too. "No, nothing like that." He paused. "But you know...I think I just got a whole knew understanding of what my Mom is going through now seeing Zack and I grown up and out our own."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah...I raised Bubba, so I was essentially his parent. I had to learn to let go of him then so he could literally spread his wings and fly. And that's what she's doing for Zack and I right now. She's letting us spread our wings and fly. And I see Bubbette the same way she sees you and Maya. I just want her to make him happy..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Glad you can see that now...just the weirdest way I've ever seen a lesson be taught."

Cody shrugged. "Pretty much..." He paused and smiled. "Instead of playing both roles before, I guess he now has you as a mother...if you want the job."

She laughed. "We'll see. If they show up again, I'll do my best to get to know him better..." She paused. "I do have one question though..."

"What's that?"

"How in the world did you understand what he was saying?"

Cody laughed. "Well, I guess I just got used to talking to him. Besides...its a lot easier than trying to understand Addison..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: A little heads up...Going to a midnight showing of Transformers 3 and then getting up at 7:00 AM to start your day wasn't a really good idea. The movie was good, better than the second one I thought. Yes, Megan Fox is not in this one, but her replacement did a good job I thought. I won't give any spoilers, but after the way this one ends, I think this will be the last one in the series.**__  
><em>_


	63. Fireworks and Explosions

_Chapter 63_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody and Bailey soon returned back to the hotel where both cleaned up and changed clothes to head back out onto the streets of Boston. As they were about to leave out again, Zack and Maya returned back to the suite as well. They said if they gave them a chance to get cleaned up too, they would join them. So, after a little bit of a delay, the four teens were on their way out into the city. They hit up several of the street festivals and dined from several of the booths set up by local restaurants. At one point, they even found some carnival games. And one of them was a strength of test game with a large mallet. Zack easily did it and won a stuffed animal for Maya. He then turned to Cody and smirked.

"Lets see if your new muscles are worth anything..."

Bailey smiled at Cody. "Give it a shot, Sweetie."

But Cody just shrugged. "I'll give it a shot, but most of these things are rigged somehow. I remember the year Zack spent twenty bucks shooting basketballs without realize the hoops are all bent in."

Zack smirked. "Yeah...thanks for telling me that before I wasted all of my money..."

Cody sighed. "I did..." He picked up the mallet to give it a shot and took a swing with it. And to his and Zack's surprise, he rang the bell easily. Cody just stood there looking at it and the mallet.

"Huh...Didn't see that coming. Guess I have gotten a little stronger." But, he didn't have much time to think about it much more as it was time to collect his prize. Of course, he let Bailey pick out whatever she wanted. And she ended up picking out a small bunny rabbit. But she ended up giving it to Cody.

"I already have Porkers to cuddle with at night. So, you can have this one."

Cody grinned. "A substitute for my real Bailey Bunny?"

She grinned back. "Exactly...but only a temporary one though. Once we're back at school, this one and Porkers will have to make do without us."

Everyone continued exploring the street festivals and had even more fun. They even came upon a booth of a store that did temporary tattoos. And this place was a little different and technologically advanced. You could actually design your own one to be made on the spot. Cody and Bailey laughed and thought why not. Thirty minutes later, Cody had a heart shaped tattoo on his upper arm with the word Bailey written in it. And for her part, Bailey had a matching one that said Cody. Before she had it applied, she made sure it would wash off before Saturday and wouldn't be visible with her dress for Maddie's wedding if it didn't.

Cody teased her though. "I see how it is. You want all the evidence of it to be gone, huh?"

She smiled back at him. "Not at all. I'm not really into real tattoos, but if I ever got one, it would look just like this, but in a location for your eyes only..."

Cody grinned. "I can live with that. And for the record, I'm not big on the real ones either. Especially the ones that completely cover someone's arms or their back. A bit too gaudy for my tastes. But, if I was ever going to permanently disfigure my body, your name is the path I would choose..."

"Awww...Same here, Codykins."

Finally, it was getting late, and they all realized that tomorrow would be a long day as well. So, they called it a night and headed back to the hotel. And Zack, Maya, Carey and Arwin all thought the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular sounded like fun too. So, Cody and Bailey volunteered to pick them up wristbands as well the next morning.

And the next morning, they were up early again. Taking a tarp with them, they secured six wristbands and found a perfect spot for them to watch the show later. They chose a spot close to the Charles River where the fireworks would be fired from later, and they thought ahead and made sure the spot they chose would be in the shade later on. So, they staked down their tarp down to reserve their perfect spot. Once that was done, it was off to see the parade and hit the local festivals to see what they could scrounge up for breakfast.

After a full morning of seeing a little bit of everything that was there, they once again hit up the vendors for lunch. Then, it was time to head for Boston Harbor. The main attraction was getting to see the reenactment of the Boston Tea Party, but while they were there, they got to tour the U.S.S. Constitution. By the time all the festivities there were over, it was getting close to three in the afternoon. With only three hours before they had to be back for the Boston Pops event, they decided to head back to the hotel to begin getting ready for it.

When they got back, everyone else was up and ready to go out, but Cody and Bailey didn't mind soaking up the air conditioning for a little while. And since there wasn't really anytime to cook anything for their picnic later, they called downstairs to see if Chef Paulo would recommend anything. He just told them if they could hold off until five o'clock, he would have something whipped up for them. And that was fine with them as it gave them a time to rest up.

At five o'clock, everyone was ready to head out, and they picked up the meal Chef Paulo had created for them on their way out. By a quarter till six, they had arrived at the venue and found the place they had already staked out. And it was a good thing they had as the area was now completely packed. They even had to run some people off of their area. Laying some blankets over the tarp and some half chairs, they all got comfortable as they waited for the show to began. And at six o'clock it did.

The Boston Pops played medleys of classical music as well other famous and popular pieces as part of their performance. And as it got closer to sunset, they got out their picnic dinner, and everyone ate as much as they wanted. Chef Paulo had even included a Boston Cream Pie for dessert. So, with full bellies, they all just laid back to enjoy the end of the concert. At one point, they all heard snoring. Looking over, Cody and Bailey could see Zack and Maya were both asleep. Bailey turned to Cody.

"Seriously?"

Cody shrugged. "Zack's always been that way after eating big meals. You remember Thanksgiving."

Bailey paused and had to nod. "True. But I just wonder how they could possibly be tired. Aren't we the ones who were out and about early?"

Cody smiled. "True. But look at it this way. Later tonight, we'll be sound asleep and they'll be back out doing whatever. We're early birds, and they're night owls."

Bailey smiled back. "Good point."

Both leaned back on the blanket with Bailey's head on Cody's shoulder. They just closed their eyes and listened to the music. Soon though, the sun did finally go down and nightfall fell over Boston. And with that, it meant it was soon time for the fireworks display. And when the announcement that they were only fifteen minutes away, everyone was finally up and about. Grabbing one of chairs they brought to lean back against, they all looked out over the Charles River. Cody was leaning back with Bailey sitting between his legs leaning against him.

He leaned down and whispered to her. "With us in this position, I feel like we should be in the bathtub right now..."

Bailey laughed and then shushed him. "Not so loud. We don't want anyone to overhear you!"

Cody laughed too. "I know, but I'm just saying..."

"Anyways, I'm really looking forward to seeing this. I read where its the largest 4th of July fireworks display in the country?"

Cody smiled. "Is that so? There are bigger ones at other times?"

She nodded. "Uh huh. It said the largest fireworks show in North America was something called Thunder Over Louisville, a celebration kicking off the annual Kentucky Derby Festival..."

Cody paused. "Huh...You learn something new everyday. You would think that would scare all the horses though..."

And before long, the fireworks show began. The Boston Pops played a medley of patriotic songs to accompany them, and for a half hour, the crowd was oohing and ahhing. But before everyone wanted it to, it ended. Of course, that was just the signal for the neighborhood celebrations to resume in earnest. Zack, Maya, Carey and Arwin wanted to go see them, so Cody and Bailey volunteered to take everything back to the hotel.

And when they did, they just both sat back into the couch to relax for a minute.

"Can you hear that?"

Bailey turned to him. "Hear what? I don't hear anything..."

"Exactly. Silence. Finally some time alone."

Bailey smiled. "True, but we did say we would meet them back out on the streets in a little while..."

"I know, but I just want to enjoy these few minutes I have alone with you."

"Something in particular you have in mind?"

Cody grinned. "Maybe..."

Bailey just shook her head and smiled. "You're incorrigible."

"Probably. But then again, its your fault for being so irresistible..."

Bailey grinned. "Maybe we could be a few minutes late getting back though..."

Cody grinned back. "Maybe we can..."

An hour later, they rejoined everyone out on the streets of Boston for the continuing festivities. By the time it got past midnight, everyone decided to call it a night. Of course, Zack and Maya had their suspicions about why Cody and Bailey were late rejoining them, but they figured they'd find all the evidence they needed when they got back to the hotel. And to their surprise, there wasn't any. Cody and Bailey could tell they both were frowning when they all entered the boys' bedroom and found it just like they had left it earlier. Disappointed, Zack and Maya headed back out again for more fun, but Cody and Bailey called it a night.

As they laid in bed together, Cody whispered to Bailey.

"Do they think we're that stupid?"

She whispered back. "It seems like it. Its like they expected to find your bed messed up..."

Cody grinned. "Exactly why we used the shower..."

Bailey grinned back. "I know! I thought they would have notice our hair was a little damp, but I guessed they chalked it up to the humidity."

The next day was Thursday, and that brought it with it the Red Sox and Royals game. Since it wasn't until that night, everyone hung around the hotel pool that afternoon. Cody and Bailey even got to show off one of their new swimsuits they got on spring break. Before long, they even got into a chicken fight. Of course, as the girls were grappling above the water, the brothers were trying to kick and trip each other below the water. However, they couldn't have as much fun as they could have as both girls were trying not to get their hair too wet.

Before it got too late, Bailey told Cody she needed to go shopping before the game, and Maya agreed to go with her. The guys just shrugged and headed on up back to the suite. They went ahead and got cleaned up and ready to head out for the game. Zack donned his white Red Sox jersey while Cody donned his alternative red one. They waited for the girls to return, and when they did, they were carrying bags. But they simply said they were surprises for the guys.

An hour later, both girls were cleaned up too and came out of the guys' room. Maya had on a Yankees jersey while Bailey had on an alternative light blue Royals jersey. Both of their boyfriends just hung their heads and sighed. Zack shook his head.

"You're wearing a Yankee jersey to Fenway Park? That's sacrilegious!"

Maya laughed. "Oh well. I'm a Yankee fan, babe. I thought you said you could deal with it."

Zack just sighed and shook his head again. "I can. But do you have to be a Knicks and Jets fan too?"

"Yes, I do. Just because New York sports are better..."

Zack smirked. "Yeah...All of Boston's big four teams have one championships in the past ten years. Only the Yankees have done that, and since you're a Jets fan, you can't claim the Giants!"

But Cody was actually laughing. "You know, Sweetie...you might be the only one in the stadium wearing one of those."

Bailey just shrugged and smiled. "Well, I like it. I'm proud to represent my hometown team..."

Cody grinned and held out his jersey. "You'll look even better wearing one of these in a few years..."

"Don't be too overconfident, Cody. But, red is a good color on you. A Chiefs jersey will look good on you..."

Zack looked at his brother. "What's she talking about?"

"Just a bet we made. Don't worry about it." He grinned. "Just a surefire way of getting my girlfriend to join the Nation..."

Maya laughed. "Good luck with that, Cody...because Zack has no chance of that happening with his girlfriend!"

And with that, they were off towards Fenway Park. They got there early enough to catch the end of batting practice. As they sat there and watched, Bailey just looked around and took in the old stadium. Sure, it didn't have as nice of amenities as the newer ballparks in the country, but it something the others didn't. She took in the Green Monster and Pesky's Pole. This place was bursting at the seems with history, and Bailey could almost feel herself going back in time as she sat there. And when Zack and Cody went to buy everyone Fenway Franks, the experience was complete. Bailey wasn't about to admit it to Cody, but she could actually see herself becoming a Red Sox fan.

Alas, the Fenway Frank was the apex of Bailey's night as it went downhill from there. From the very beginning, the Red Sox were in control of the game. The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, and no one was rooting harder than Bailey and Maya. But Boston responded with eight runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 8-1. And from there, the rout was on. At one point, Boston got up 23-2, and the Royals put in one of their position players to pitch the 8th inning. And the Royal's luck continued as the player pulled a Jose Canseco and blew out his elbow pitching.

As they exited the park to head back to the subway, Cody was doing his best not to rub the final score in. If it had been a close game, it would have been fair to do so, but a blowout had to hurt.

"So...what did you think of Fenway Park, Bails?"

Bailey turned to him. "Well..." She smiled. "It was even better than I imagined. I wish the game had been a better one..."

Cody smiled. "I thought it was great."

She rolled her eyes. "I bet you did..."

He laughed. "Okay, besides the score, how was it?"

"I had a lot of fun. It was just like you had described it to me."

"So, think you could get used to this?"

Bailey smiled. "Maybe. Think you could get used to being a Chiefs fan?"

Cody shrugged. "Probably. I admit. I'm not a real huge football fan. I'm more of a baseball and hockey fan followed by basketball." He smiled. "To be honest, most of the time I watch football, I'm mainly doing it to watch the halftime show. I love watching the marching bands get out there and spell stuff."

Bailey just shook her head and laughed. "So that's why you made that bet!"

He grinned. "Uh huh. I can watch the bands anywhere."

"So, you lied..."

"I didn't lie...Omitted the truth maybe."

"Lied..."

"Told a half truth?"

"Lied..."

"Covered my based?"

"Lied..."

They just kept walking along with Bailey shooting down every way Cody tried to explain it away.

__To be Continued...__


	64. Wedded Bliss

_Chapter 64_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Friday brought with it a chance to do something they hadn't done all week - absolutely nothing. Well, almost. Zack and Cody were supposed to show up for the wedding rehearsal at six o'clock to be followed by the wedding rehearsal dinner afterwards. And of course, as their dates, Maya and Bailey were invited to the rehearsal dinner as well. Until that time though, the had all morning and afternoon to do whatever they wanted to do. Zack and Maya wanted to head out into the city again and see what there was to do. But after the Mulch Festival and the 4th of July festival, Cody and Bailey were all partied out and ready for a relaxing day.

So, after breakfast that morning, the decided to do something Bailey had talked about doing on Monday. The pulled out Cody's laptop and pulled up Yale's online course listings for the fall semester. After reviewing the requirements for their dual degrees in Chemistry and Biology, they began trying to find themselves a schedule that would keep them on track.

Cody was skimming the information and turned to Bailey. "Looks like with our AP credits and with what we've already taken, we really only have one last Physics class and lab to knock out all of our prerequisites for both majors."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, looks like we should go ahead and get that out of the way next semester. And then that political science class you talked about before should cover our final social sciences requirement."

Cody smiled. "That's eight hours taken care of."

Bailey smiled back. "Halfway done. I say we knock out a required class and lab in both chemistry and biology. That will put us at sixteen hours for he semester."

Cody nodded and paused. "Is it just me, or does it seem wrong we only get an hour credit for these labs, but they last between two and three hours each?"

She laughed. "I know, but come finals next semester, we'll only have four exams again. So, I think we can sacrifice a little during the semester to have that luxury."

"Guess all that's left to do is work them all into a schedule. I say we work our actual classes into the mornings and leave the afternoons free for the labs."

She nodded. "Agreed. That does make the most sense."

An hour later, they thought they finally had a schedule that would work for them without overloading themselves on any one day. The wrote down the course and section numbers of the classes they chose so they would have them ready when they returned to campus in August. As they were looking over it one last time, Zack and Maya finally emerged from the bedroom after sleeping in that morning. They walked past Cody and Bailey and stopped in mid step.

"What are you two doing?"

Cody looked up. "Oh, we're just trying to go ahead and plan our schedules for next semester. You know, go ahead and get it out of the way."

Zack grabbed it out of their hands and looked at it. And once he had, he looked up at them. "Are you two insane?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have a class at 8:30 four mornings, and three days a week, you don't get out of a lab until 4:00. The only thing you did right was only have one class on Fridays..."

Bailey laughed. "Well, we find we work the best early in the mornings. Cody and I are both morning people after all."

Zack shook his head. "I'm going to make it a habit of starting no earlier than 10:00 AM. In high school, Cody had to keep nudging me the first couple of classes everyday to keep me awake."

Cody checked his watch. "Well, if today is any indication, you might want to change that to no earlier than noon then..."

Zack smirked at him. "Very funny."

Maya just shook her head. "So, what are you two planning on doing until the rehearsal?"

Bailey shrugged. "I think we're just going to hang out here. With the wedding tomorrow afternoon, this will be our last change to just be together without having somewhere else to be."

Maya nodded. "I think we're going to head over to the park and play some basketball. This twin here doesn't think I can beat him in HORSE. I need to go kick his butt."

Zack rolled his eyes. "At least I won't have to deal with playing with Cody. All he shoots is granny shots, and I hate those!"

So, Maya and Zack headed out while Cody and Bailey just lounged around the suite. They ended up just hanging out on the couch watching a movie when the idea of an afternoon nap began sounding real good to then. Once again, curled up together, they fell asleep on the couch. And that was the same position that Carey found them in again. But this time, she just shook her head and smiled. She walked over to them and nudged them awake.

Cody blinked his eyes open. "Huh? What?"

Carey laughed. "Its almost 4:00. Zack and Maya aren't back yet, but you two should go ahead and get cleaned up for the rehearsal."

Both Cody and Bailey just nodded as they tried to wake themselves up. By 5:00, both had cleaned up and were dressed to head downstairs. Cody was in a sport coat and khakis, and Bailey was in a summer dress that matched his tie. And it was a good thing they went ahead and got ready as Zack and Maya came back in from the park both drenched in sweat. Cody just reminded Zack they had to be downstairs in an hour so not to dilly dally. So, at 5:45, Zack was ready to go, but Maya still was in the shower.

Bailey shrugged. "You two head on down. I'll come down with Maya when she's done getting ready." She smiled. "Besides, you two are actually needed for the rehearsal..."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Cody kissed her cheek. "Okay, Sweetie. See you both down there then." And with that, he grabbed Zack's arm and dragged him out of the suite.

Twenty minutes later, Maya finally finished getting ready, and she and Bailey headed downstairs. And when they got there, they weren't sure what they had just walked in on, but it looked like pure chaos. They sat down next to their boyfriends, and leaned in to whisper.

"What's going on?"

Cody turned to Bailey. "Oh...Maddie's parents just got into an argument with Trevor's parents..."

Bailey was surprised. "They chose now of all times to do this?"

Cody shrugged. "Better now than tomorrow." He smiled. "From everything Maddie has told us, her parents love to argue. Usually, its with each other. I'm just surprised they are teaming up with each other and arguing against someone else..."

Bailey just shook her head. "Wow..."

"It'll all work out. If its one thing I've learned about living here is that no matter how crazy things seem, they always seem to work out in the end."

"Always?"

Cody paused to think. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure..."

"I would just think their parents would try not to take away from their big moment..."

Cody smiled. "You would think so. Especially since neither one is paying for it."

She laughed. "Good point. I guess I just thought this would be a time for unity instead of division."

"Well, it should be. But weddings can be very stressful events. In an effort to make sure everything is perfect, personalities will tend to clash...especially when you have multiple views of what perfect should be."

"True..."

Finally, the rehearsal got back under way once a settlement was reached about whatever it was they were arguing about. Zack and Cody quickly learned what they were supposed to do. Pretty much, they asked if the guests were there for the bride or groom and then escort them to the appropriate side of the aisle. And escorting the mothers and grandmothers down the aisle wasn't too difficult to master either. So, while everyone else was practicing and practicing some more, the four teens sat in the back of the ballroom.

Bailey turned to Cody and laughed. "I have to admit...this is a lot different than most Kettlecorn weddings I've been to."

"Oh yeah?"

"Most of them take place at the church or in front of the justice of the peace, and probably half of them involve the use of a shotgun. Plus, none of them are as fancy as this is."

Cody smiled. "Ever imagined what yours will be like?"

She smiled back. "I have lately. I think I'd prefer it to be outdoors. You know...surrounded by nature."

"Really? I always pictured mine someplace historic...Maybe like the Old North Church or someplace like that."

"Codykins..." She just patted his hand. "Outdoors."

He just sighed. "'Kay..."

Finally, everyone got what they needed done well enough for the wedding coordinator London had hired to be satisfied. And that's when it was time for the rehearsal dinner. For that, they all moved over to the Tipton Hotel's fanciest restaurant. Of course, everyone was happy to be dining on a free meal...especially one as good as Chef Paulo had whipped up. And the teens were even offered champagne to drink since none of them were going to be driving, but Cody and Bailey both politely declined. And fortunately, there weren't that many people there. The bride and groom's families plus those in the wedding party and their dates. The only person really disappointed was Trevor's best man who quickly realized that all of the ladies there near his age were already spoken for. He gave Trevor grief for not having single women then before hitting the bar and drinking too much. After the meal, there were the customary speeches and activities like the cutting of the groom's cake. All of those were punctuated when the best man threw up all over the place.

Once that was cleaned up, Maddie and Trevor decided to give their gifts to those in their wedding party. For Zack and Cody, they each got a fleece blanket with their school's logo on them plus a framed picture of Maddie, London, Zack and Cody from just after the twins moved into the hotel. Naturally, Maya and Bailey both thought they were absolutely adorable. However, all of that did bring a thought to Bailey's mind. So, she whispered over to Cody.

"I just realized. I don't have a gift to give them."

Cody smiled. "Yeah, you do. I bought something off of their registry and put both of our names on it."

She smiled back. "You did?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You would do the same for me, right?"

"Of course...So, what did we give them?"

He grinned. "One of those Margaritaville frozen concoction makers. I figured it seemed appropriate."

Bailey laughed. "Extremely appropriate."

Before long though, everyone called it a night as everyone had a big day the next day. And, fortunately, as ushers, the twins didn't have to show up the next day until 4:00 PM. So, most of Saturday morning and early afternoon were spent hanging around the suite and resting up for the wedding and reception later on that evening. Plus, these would be the last hours of true alone time the two couples would have with each other. Maya had to drive back to New York on Sunday afternoon, and Bailey's flight back to Kansas was scheduled to leave late Sunday morning.

Time finally passed by, and around 2:30, Zack and Cody had to begin getting ready to head downstairs. Cody went first, and Bailey was helping him get ready. She helped him put in his cufflinks and tied his bow tie for him. Finally, he was dressed in his tuxedo and modeled it for Bailey.

"How do I look?"

She smiled at him. "Very handsome."

"Thanks, Sweetie. I think I've worn a tux more in the past three months than I have in my whole life. Its not like I'll ever be James Bond and have to wear one on a spy mission or anything like that."

Bailey laughed. "Well, as good as you look in one, we'll have to see what we can do to make it a more regular occurrence."

At a quarter till four, Zack was finished getting dressed too, and he and Cody headed on downstairs. Bailey and Maya would head down later once they were changed. Unfortunately, for the twins, their first hour downstairs was pretty boring as they had nothing really to do. They were the fortunate ones though. Both of their tuxedos had fit. They soon found out that a tailor had to be brought in at the last minute to do alterations on practically everyone else's. But gradually, guests began showing up, and the twins went to work.

About five thirty, Carey, Arwin, Esteban and Francesca showed up at the same time. So, Cody escorted his Mom to her seat while Zack escorted Francesca. And by that time, the majority of guests were beginning to flood in. They had at least met most of Maddie's friends and family at one point or another, but they had absolutely no idea who any of Trevor's guests were. After a while, it had become almost reflex to extend their arms to escort someone down the aisle.

Of course, that was until they saw the two loveliest ladies show up to be seated. Both smiled at their girlfriends, and escorted them inside. Maya and Bailey asked to be seated in the back row so they could sit by their boyfriends during the ceremony. Finally, everyone was seated, and it was time for the boys to do their other duty. They sat the grandmothers before each leading one of the mothers to the front to light a candle.

And then the show began. London came walking down the aisle followed shortly by the flower girl and ring bearer. And then it was Maddie's turn. Her father escorted her down the aisle and gave her hand to Trevor. After a brief ceremony, they recited their vows, exchanged rings and were declared man and wife.

Bailey turned to Cody and whispered. "Does this give you any ideas?

He smiled at her. "It sure does. When the time comes...we're eloping!"

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Sorry to be posting this so late. Just got back from blowing stuff up. I love 4th of July weekend!**__  
><em>_


	65. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow III

_Chapter 65_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After, Zack and Cody did their final duties of walking the parents and grandparents out of the ballroom, it was time for everyone to head for the reception – in the adjoining ballroom. Well...almost. They did have to stick around to be in some of the wedding pictures. Maya and Bailey waited with them, and Maddie even wanted some pictures taken of the twins with their girlfriends. Only once the pictures were completed was it finally time for the reception. And while the twins were ushers, they didn't have seats at the head table but rather at the table closest to it along side Carey, Arwin, Esteban and Francesca. There were two extra seats open at it and they were soon filled by two stragglers.

"Sorry we're late."

Everyone turned to see Mr. Moseby standing there along side a redhead woman. And to Cody and Bailey, she looked familiar for some reason.

"Our flight landed late, so we missed the wedding. But we're here now. I'd like to introduce everyone to Emma Tutweiler. She's going to be the principal and a teacher in the new high school we're starting on the S.S. Tipton this fall."

Emma smiled at everyone until she got to Cody and Bailey.

"Haven't I met you two before?"

Bailey paused. "I'm not sure, but you look familiar as well..."

"Well, I used to be a weather girl in Vermont."

Bailey shook her head. "No, that wouldn't be it. I'm only familiar with Boston and New Haven where Cody and I go to school at Yale."

"Oh...That's a great school. Congratulations. A good education is key."

Cody spoke up. "Where did you go to school?"

Emma paused and looked away. "Ummm...You know, we're here to celebrate a wedding. That doesn't really matter right now."

He leaned over to Bailey and whispered. "Why do I get the feeling it wasn't an accredited school?"

She whispered back. "The school's accreditation? I'm wondering about her teaching credentials. If she was a weather girl, when did she have time to get her masters in education?"

About that time, London, Maddie and Trevor came over to the table.

"Mr. Moseby! I'm so glad you could come!"

Moseby smiled. "Madeline, I wouldn't miss your big day for the world. I do apologize for missing the ceremony though."

Maddie smiled back. "You're here now. That's all that matters."

Trevor was about to say something when he began sneezing. He finally stopped and shook his head.

"Excuse me. I usually don't sneeze like that unless I'm around a cat..."

Emma just gave a nervous laugh.

Moseby smiled. "I'd like to introduce you to Emma Tutweiler. Emma, this is Madeline, her new husband Trevor, and London Tipton."

Emma smiled. "Ahh yes. Marion's told me all about your, Miss Tipton. Its a pleasure to finally meet you."

London just looked at her. "Did you have a mirror on the plane? Your make up looks clowny."

Emma sighed. "You're just exactly the way Marion told me you'd be."

Moseby gave a nervous laugh. "Anyways, this is Arwin, the hotel's engineer; Carey, the hotel's cabaret singer; her son Zack and his girlfriend, Maya; her other son, Cody, and his girlfriend, Bailey."

"Are these the two hooligans you were telling me about?"

Moseby just nodded as Zack and Cody rolled their eyes and Maya and Bailey laughed. But by then, everyone was asked to make their way to their seats. With London having paid for everything, no expense had been spared. The meal was another Chef Paulo creation, and it was magnificent. After dinner was over, the typical wedding reception activities began in earnest. Their was the father/bride and mother/groom dances as well as the cutting of the wedding cake.

And while everyone was eating their wedding cake, Arwin pulled Zack and Cody aside to ask them a favor. Both said they didn't have a problem with it, but they would have to run it past their girlfriends first. And when Cody sat back down next to Bailey, he whispered to her.

"Arwin asked us a favor, but if you don't want to go along with it, he'll understand."

She whispered back. "What does he want us to do?"

He smiled. "He was hoping Mom would be the one to catch the bouquet..."

Bailey had to hold back a laugh. "So, he wants us not to go for it?"

"Something like that. He asked us on the garter to tip it over to him if it came our way..."

She grinned and teased him. "You sure you just don't want us to catch them? Not afraid of the old wives' tale that says those who catch them are next to get married are you?"

Cody grinned back. "Not at all. I don't need a superstition to know I'm going to marry you someday. But you know how Arwin is a little superstitious and could use the boost to his self esteem."

"I do know. And I would be happy to help him out."

"Good. We can make it obvious what were doing, but you and Maya have to be subtle about it. Just like I want your Dad to like me, I know you want my Mom to like you."

Bailey smiled. "Don't worry. I think I have an idea..."

And soon it came time for the tossing of the bouquet and the garter. The bouquet was the first to be thrown, and all of the single women were asked out on to the dance floor. And as Maddie turned around to begin her throw, Bailey put her plan into motion. She turned to Maya.

"Oh my gosh, Maya...I hadn't noticed your necklace before. Its so shiny!"

And in one fail swoop, Maya was showing off her necklace to Bailey, and the word 'shiny' got London's attention too. When the bouquet was thrown, it was heading right for their group on the dance floor. With Bailey, Maya and London's attention focused elsewhere, Carey was the only who could catch it. And she did. And when she did, she heard a round of applause and turned to see her twin boys and Arwin clapping away and whistling. Carey could only shake her head and laughed.

When it came time for the garter throw, Trevor actually shot it right towards Cody. But, he pretended to fumble the catch, and it landed in Arwin's hands. Cody acted disappointed and shook his head.

"I never was any good at catching things...Darn butterfingers."

Carey looked on, and her suspicions were starting to rise. She was pretty sure she had just been tricked, but she knew she couldn't prove it. So, she just went with it. Besides, the dancing part of the reception was about to begin. And everyone began dancing the night away. Well, they did until it was close to eleven o'clock. By that hour, it was time for Maddie and Trevor to make their exit. They were off to to Logan International where they would be taking a late flight out to Hawaii. Everyone threw birdseed at them as they exited...although Zack wanted to throw rice to see if birds would really explode.

Once the bride and groom left, the reception carried on to midnight when it came to an end. Carey and Arwin went for another drink in the hotel bar while the four teenagers headed back up to the 24th floor. Everyone changed out their dress clothes and began winding down. Zack and Maya were sitting back on the couch and watching TV. They looked up at Cody and Bailey when they came of the bedroom fresh from changing.

"Hey..._Clash of the Titans_ is on. The new one. You guys want to watch it with us?"

Cody and Bailey both frowned and shook their heads.

"No thanks. We watched it a few months ago at school. The way it butchered Greek mythology was disgraceful..."

Bailey nodded. "I know, right? Perseus did marry Andromeda, and he and Io never even knew each other. She was Zeus's lover who he turned into a cow to hide from Hera. Plus, they completely butchered Perseus' back story."

"Exactly. And there was only one Pegasus, and he was born from Medusa's blood after she was decapitated. I hate stories that try to change who people really are. Its like the writers completely ignored who these people were..."

Bailey nodded again. "I couldn't agree more. Characters are who they are. Trying to change them for shock value or to make a story fit an absurd plot is an abomination. No matter what some hack writer says, the characters are who they are." She turned to Cody. "I say we go ahead and go to bed. That way, we'll have more time together in the morning before I have to fly home."

Cody smiled. "Sounds good to me."

So, they headed on into the bedroom, and closed the partitions behind them. Both climbed into bed and snuggled together. And as they laid there, they began talking.

"So, Maddie and Trevor are off to Hawaii. I've always wanted to visit there."

Cody nodded. "Me too. Hawaii and Alaska are the two states I've most wanted to visit. They are just extreme opposites of each other."

Bailey smiled at him. "I know. One is grass skirts and beautiful weather and the other is bitter cold and dog sleds."

He smiled back. "I'd love to visit both with you."

"Me too."

He grinned. "I bet you'd look amazing in a grass skirt. Maybe one of those coconut bras too..."

She laughed. "Uh huh...It must be time for bed, because you are dreaming..."

"Awww..."

"Tell you what. I'll think about it if we go to Scotland first and you wear a kilt while we're there..."

Cody paused to think about that. "Okay. I can live with that." He grinned. "But just remember, you're the one with the legs in our relationship. The only person who would want to see me in one of those is you."

Bailey snuggled up closer to him. "It doesn't matter to me. Because if we got to go to any of those places, it means we would be doing them together. And I wouldn't have to leave you again tomorrow."

Cody leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I know. But just remember. This is the last time this summer we're going to be separated. When you come back to Boston next month, you won't be getting rid of me again after a week."

She looked up at him. "I don't want to be apart from you now. But this is going to be our longest time apart. The past two times, its always been less than a month. This time though, it will be six weeks."

He sighed. "I know. I've been trying to not to think about that."

Bailey nodded. "Me either. But, I keep telling myself that once this stretch is over, we'll be back at Yale together, and everything will be back the way it should be again."

"Bails, I know I've told you this before, but you are worth the wait. It won't be easy, but the reward for once its over will be well worth it. I won't like it, but I can handle six more weeks."

She smiled up at him. "I won't like it either, but I can handle it too...Besides, I still have your promise of taking me to the water park when I come back."

He smiled back. "Count on it. And when we get back to New Haven, maybe we'll hit the beach again before school starts."

"Sounds good to me. Thinking of times like those will get me through this next stretch."

"Me too."

The next morning, they were up early. They weren't sure when Zack and Maya went to bed, but they were both still sound asleep when Cody and Bailey left the suite. Carey was asleep too, as no one was quite sure when she got home. Bailey wanted to say goodbye to everyone, but she had to be moving along if she was going to catch her flight home.

They headed towards Logan International, and stopped to grab breakfast once again before she had to leave. But like when she had to leave New Haven, time kept passing by no matter how much they didn't want it to. And well before they wanted it to, it was time to get Bailey to the airport. Fortunately, parking was much easier at the general aviation terminal, so Cody was able to wait with Bailey for her flight to be called. And a little before noon, she heard her name being called.

"I guess this it..."

Cody nodded. "I know. But thankfully, this is the last time we have to do this this summer."

"Thank goodness for that." She reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope. She smiled at him. "My turn now. Don't open this until I leave."

He smiled back. "I won't. I should warn you that you will probably have one of your own waiting for you in Kettlecorn. I put it in the mail on Thursday."

Bailey pulled him in for a kiss. "And that's why I love you so much."

"I love you too."

She smiled again. "In six weeks, I'll be back. Until then, take care of yourself for me."

"I will if you will do the same for me. And I want you to promise me. If Moose causes you any problems when you get back, you'll tell me immediately."

"I promise. But Codykins, I can take care of myself. Remember, you've taught me a self defense move that we already know can drop him like a rock." She smiled. "Plus, I'll have Daddy around. If there is someone who trusts him now even less than we do, its him."

Cody nodded and then handed her a small bag. "Take this just in case."

She opened it up and began laughing. "Where in the world did you find moose repellant?"

He grinned. "Same place I order our bear repellant from. If he bothers you, this stuff is even more potent than the one for bears."

She smiled at him. "I love you."

"I love you too."

She leaned in and kissed him one more time. "Trust me...Everything is going to be just fine..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: I was going to post this last night, but FF wouldn't let me upload it. So, not my fault it wasn't up lol**__  
><em>_


	66. Showdown in Kettlecorn

_Chapter 66_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Once their week in Boston was over, Cody and Bailey returned back to the final stretches of their summers. Yale's dorms reopened to upperclassmen, which they now were, on August 22 with classes beginning back on August 29. Both of those days were Wednesdays, so both of them had planned their last days of work to be Friday, August 17. On that Saturday following it, the plan was for Bailey to fly back to Boston and have a few days to spend there before they officially headed back to New Haven. But before that happened, they had six more weeks of their summer breaks and jobs to finish first. And as both were hoping to have their employers be references for the applications to medical school, neither wanted to do anything to upset them by slacking off at the end. But they didn't really have anything to worry about as both had made quite the impression on their respective bosses.

Being in Boston, Bailey could forget about Moose's vow as she was with Cody, and he made her forget all about it. But once back in Kettlecorn, she had her defenses up. While she hoped he wouldn't do anything to cause her problems, she was going to be on the look out if he did. And for the first couple of weeks back home, she didn't hear a thing from him. The optimistic side of her wanted to believe that he had forgotten about his promise. But she was a great student and remembered her lessons from history – an enemy would often try to give a false sense of security before striking.

And she was right. It was the Friday of her third week back from Boston when she was in Doc Johnson's office all by herself. The good doctor had already left for the weekend and had told Bailey she could leave early too. She told him she wanted to finish filling out some insurance paperwork and then she would head home. Once she did, she locked up the office and began walking home. And halfway home, she realized she wasn't alone.

"Hey there, Apple Dumpling!"

Bailey sighed. "What do you want, Moose?"

"Well, I hear that there new Batman movie is playing at the theater in Kettlepot tomorrow night. I figured you and I could go watch it and get some supper before hand."

Bailey shook her head. "No thanks. I told Cody that he and I would go see it together when I returned back to Boston in a few weeks."

Moose laughed. "I don't think you'll be doing that. Once I tell your folks what I know, I seriously doubt they're going to let you anywhere near that city slicker. I knew he was a bad influence on you..."

She stopped and looked at him. "And just what are you going to tell them?"

He grinned. "I'm going to tell them just how close you and the little feller have gotten. I'm sure they won't be too happy to hear that..."

Bailey paused to think, and decided to bluff him. "Okay...That sounds fine to me."

"Good. I'll pick you up at 6:00!"

"No...I mean go ahead and tell them. You see, my parents actually really like Cody. When he was here in Kettlecorn, where do you think he slept? That's right. He slept in my bedroom with me. They already know how close Cody and I are. So, if you want to tell them what they already know, be my guest. But just remember what my Dad said he'd do if he ever caught you on our property again."

Moose was taken aback but kept staring at her. "I think you're bluffing! And he might be mad, but he'll forget that when he hears what I have to say."

Bailey shrugged. "Go ahead then. Tell them. It'll be your word against mine. I think he'll believe me."

He kept staring at her. "I'm going to be at your farm tomorrow at 6:00. You be ready to go or I'm going to spill everything I know! And, I just may make up some stuff to sound more convincing!" And with that, he turned and headed in the other direction. Bailey just hung her head and sighed. That hadn't gone the way she had hoped. Her plan to bluff him had in fact just failed miserably.

Immediately, she pulled out her cell phone and called Cody. And when he picked up, she immediately just poured out everything that had just happened. But Cody stayed calm.

"Bails, are you sure that you're alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. I know my Grammy knows everything, but she was very understanding about it. I think my Mom will be too, but I'm worried about my Dad. I mean, logic should tell him that we've taken our relationship to that level, but if he doesn't know for sure, he can pretend like we haven't..."

Cody paused. "Moose said he'd be there at six? Let me call London and see if I can get a lift on the Tipton jet so I can be there with you. If I can't, I'll hop in the car and drive there..."

Bailey shook her head. "Cody, it would take you over twenty four hours to drive straight here from Boston, and that doesn't include stopping for gas, food or sleep. There's no way you would be here in time. Plus, I wouldn't want you to risk your life by driving while your exhausted. I appreciate you offering to do so, but I don't want you to do that."

"I'll just call London then or try to book a flight..."

She shook her head again. "Don't. If he decides to show up, I'll handle it somehow..."

"Bails, I want to be there to support you."

She smiled. "I know you do, Cody. And that means the world to me that you want to be here. But, we're both 18 and in love. This is our life to live. We have nothing to be ashamed of...we've done nothing wrong."

Cody smiled too. "You're right. Well, almost. You'll be 19 next month, and then I'll be 19 the month after that. The only thing you're guilty of is robbing the cradle..."

Bailey had to laugh at that. "I guess I am. But I don't consider a few weeks to be all that much time..."

"It is to me. You've been gone for three weeks now, and I miss you like crazy. I'm not sure I can handle three more without seeing you."

She couldn't help but to smile again. "Okay, three weeks away from you is an eternity for me as well. And I miss you too, Sweetie. But don't worry about things here. I'm going to figure out something."

"If you need my help with anything, let me know. And if you change your mind, I'll book myself on the next flight there."

"I will. I'll call you later after I've had time to think about it and know what I'm going to do. Love you, Codykins."

"Love you too..."

Bailey made her way home, and immediately she began doing her evening chores. And the entire time, she started thinking about what she was going to do about Moose. But with all of the plans she came up with, every single one of them had a serious drawback of some sort. The simplest would be to sit down with her parents and just be upfront with them or tell them she said something to Moose out of anger. But that would still put the thoughts into her father's mind that she didn't want to be there. Unfortunately, She still wasn't able to come up with a better alternative though.

Meanwhile, back in Boston, Cody walked home thinking about what he could do as well. But Bailey was right...there was no way he could drive there in time. What he needed was a foolproof plan to get Moose out of their lives for good. But those kind of plans just weren't his forte. Fortunately though, he did have access to someone with a devious mind who could come up with such a plan. So, as soon as Zack got home from work, Cody was there waiting on him.

"What's up, Broseph?"

Cody sighed. "Zack, I need your help. I need to tap into your devious mind..."

Zack just looked at him. "Why?"

After giving him the basics of what was going on, Zack stood there and thought.

"You're going to need something big. You're going to have to cut him to the core. Hit him where it hurts him the most. You see, I never played the same pranks on everyone. They had to be formulated specific to the individual. You have to do your homework so you have the biggest impact."

Cody just looked at him. "Why couldn't you use the same thought process with your school work?"

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes, I do..."

"Alright then...What's this guy's biggest weakness?"

Cody paused to think. "Probably his ego..."

Zack nodded. "Okay, that's where you need to attack him. Maybe somehow get an embarrassing picture of him and threaten to spread it around if he doesn't back off?"

Cody stopped to consider that and smiled. "You know, Zack...I think that just might work. I need to go call Bailey!"

And that's what Cody did. But when he called, he got Bailey's voicemail. Checking his watch, he realized she was probably outside doing her evening chores. So, he left her a message to call him back as soon as possible. And thirty minutes later, she did.

"Cody, your message sounded important. Is everything okay?"

He smiled. "I think it will be, Bails. I went to the master for help, and I think I have a way for us to make sure Moose never bothers you ever again..."

She smiled and sighed. "Codykins, I appreciate the offer, but I've decided I'm just going to go with the truth. You know the old expression...the truth will set you free."

Cody paused. "Are you sure this is the way you want to go?"

"Yeah, I am. This way, he won't have anything to hold over my head, and I will know I did the right thing."

"Well, let me call London then and see if I can be there when he shows up. If you're going to tell your parents the truth, I want to be there right beside you. Of course, I'm sure they'll call my Mom while I'm on my way back, but might as well get them both over with one right after each other..."

Bailey had to laugh at that. "Sweetie, I appreciate the offer, but I'll manage by myself. It was my decision for us to take that next step, so I should be the one who deals with the consequences."

"Bails, it took two of us to...tango. It was just as much my decision as it was yours. We did that together, so we should face the fallout together. Besides, we're a team."

She smiled again. "You saying that means more than I can say. But, its like you said. Once my parents find out, Carey is going to be getting a phone call as well, so you should be there to prepare for that."

"Are you sure, Sweetheart? You give me the word, and I'll be there."

"I'm positive, but thank you for the offer again. Everything will be okay, I promise."

After they hung up, Cody sat there thinking. Despite what Bailey said, he would feel a lot better if she had someone there to watch out for her and have her back. And that's when he got another idea. Picking up his phone, he made another phone call.

Saturday afternoon finally arrived. Bailey was busy doing some things on the farm to distract her from what was going to come that afternoon. When she checked her watch, she saw it was a quarter till 6:00. Deciding it was time to go face the music, she headed back to the house. But something was odd. Nobody was home. She looked everywhere, but neither her parents nor her sisters were anywhere to be found. Frowning, she headed back on to the front porch and just sat there to wait. And right at six o'clock, Moose pulled up in his pickup truck. Getting out, he strutted up to the porch.

"You ready to go?"

Bailey shook her head. "Nope. I'm not going anywhere with you. I was about to tell my parents the truth, but they're nowhere to be found..."

He smirked. "I'll just wait then. You really should take up my offer..." He began walking towards the porch steps when they both heard a voice.

"You take one more step, and you'll be picking bird shot out of your worthless hide for a long, long time..."

Both turned to see Grammy Pickett standing there...holding a shot gun...aimed right at Moose.

"Grammy, what are you doing?"

She smiled. "I got a phone call last night from Cody. He told me what was going on, and what was going to happen today. He just asked me if I would be here to watch out for you." She laughed. "Of course, I agreed, but I decided how I'd help out was up to me..."

Moose was standing there staring at the shot gun that was being aimed right at his chest. "Now settle down, Grammy Pickett. This doesn't involve you..."

She glared at him. "The heck it don't! You're trying to blackmail my granddaughter. I don't take kindly to that at all. My Bailey is a good girl, and she's got herself a good feller in Cody. What they do between themselves is there business and no one else's. And if I ever hear of you trying to cause either one of them problems again, then I'll replace the bird shot with buck shot and hunt you down like the dog you are! You hear me?"

Moose just stood there scared out of his mind and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am..."

"Bailey, get that phone of yours out and be ready to take a picture..."

Bailey did what her grandmother said, and Grammy Pickett pulled back the hammer of the shotgun. "You know, I should shoot you right now for what you've done already..." She smiled. "In fact, I think I will!"

She pulled the trigger, and the shotgun blasted and recoiled. By the time the smoke cleared, Grammy Pickett was laughing, Bailey was standing there with a shocked expression on her face, and Moose was standing there crying. Of course, his eyes weren't the only part of him leaking. On the front of his jeans, it was obvious had had lost control of his bladder.

"You're lucky I missed on purpose..." Grammy smiled. "Now, Bailey...Take that picture."

Bailey laughed and did what she was told. "Why did you want me to take a picture, Grammy?"

She just laughed too. "When Cody called me, he told me his idea was to get a picture of Moose that was so embarrassing that he would do anything to make sure no one would ever see it. We have one of those now. So, Moose, if you ever bother my granddaughter and that handsome young man of hers ever again, not only will I be coming after you with both barrels loaded, but copies of the picture will be posted all over town. Not, get on out of here!"

With that, Moose ran to his truck as fast as he could and drove out so fast he left tire marks. Grammy just shook her head.

"I'm betting those aren't the only skidmarks he made..."

Bailey just laughed again. "Grammy! How can I ever thank you for what you just did?"

She smiled at her granddaughter. "No need. Family takes care of each other. Besides, I'm proud of you for being willing to tell the truth to get out of this mess. While I commend that, I know my son. He's perfectly happy being kept in the dark about some things. Now, I doubt you will be hearing from that scoundrel Moose anytime soon. You better go call Cody and tell him what happened."

Bailey hugged her grandmother and kissed her cheek. "I will, Grammy. Thank you again." She paused. "Did you arrange for Momma and Daddy not to be here?"

Grammy grinned. "They might be down at the drug store getting a prescription filled for me...Now, I need to go call his grandmother. If he thinks he's getting off this easy, he's dead wrong!"

Bailey just smiled, pulled out her phone and called Cody. And as soon as he answered, she filled him in on everything that had just happened. The entire time, Cody was laughing hard.

"Thanks for calling my Grammy..."

He grinned. "Well, if I couldn't be there, I wanted you to have some back up. She was the logical choice. Now, I need to thank her. What kind of flowers does she like? I'll send her a dozen..."

Bailey smiled too. "She loves daisies. And I know she would appreciate that. And it will probably endear you to her even more. And if its possible, you've endeared yourself to me even more."

"Well, if anyone messes with you, they're going to have to deal with me. Besides, I just want to make you happy."

"You always do, Codykins. It feels so good to know the lengths you will go to make it happen..."

"Bails, I would crawl to the ends of the earth to make you happy."

She smiled again. "I truly believe you would. I'd do the same for you. I wish you were here right now so I could hug you and kiss you and show you just how thankful I am."

"Me too...but just remember...we just have three more weeks left until were together again for good." He grinned. "I'll collect my hugs and kisses then..."

"Count on it..."

"I will...And Bails, if Moose tries to do anything else stupid again, we'll teach him a lesson again. And we'll keep doing that until it seeps through his thick skull..."

"You're right...we will. But after seeing his face after Grammy pulled a shotgun on him, I don't think we'll ever have to deal with him again."

__To be Continued...__


	67. The End of Summer

_Chapter 67_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Like they said, they still had three weeks of their summers and separation left to get through. And as with anything you are really looking forward to, those three weeks crawled by at a snail's pace. Both began countdowns on their calendars crossing off the days until they saw each other once again. But they weren't singularly focused though. Bailey realized she only had three weeks to spend with her family, so she did spend as much time with them as possible. In particular, she spent as much of her free time with her Grammy as possible. And Grammy's threat must have been taken seriously as Moose didn't bother Bailey a single time the rest of the summer. In fact, if he saw her in town, he would cross the street to walk on the other side.

As for Cody, he too realized his time with his own family was drawing to a nigh. Granted, he would still be closer to home than Bailey would be and could be back in Boston in a couple of hours if need be. But time just hanging out with Zack would change once both of their girlfriends returned. And this was a fact that both brothers had noticed. They were sitting on the couch one afternoon playing video games when Zack turned to his brother.

"Wow...a whole summer playing again, and you still suck!"

Cody shrugged. "Well, after not playing for about nine months, I got rusty. Plus, I was never as good at them anyways."

Zack nodded. "True." He paused. "You know...with us both being back in college again soon, times like these will be rare."

"Well, yeah. You're at BC, and I'm at Yale. Its not like the old days when we were around each other 24/7."

"I know. Its just...after eighteen years like that, its just weird. Sure, we've always had different interests, but at the end of the day, it was always the two of us. Its not like that anymore, is it?"

Cody shook his head. "No, its not. And to be honest, it shouldn't be like that anymore. We've both grown up and begun our own adult lives. We have our own things we do, and new people we want to spend our time with. Be honest. You would much rather spend time with Maya than me, right?"

Zack nodded. "Well, yeah. I have fun with you, but I have more fun with her. We have a lot more in common, plus...you know..."

Cody laughed. "I completely understand. I'm the same way with Bailey. But that's completely natural. We're both 18 almost 19. Its no surprise we want to spend as much time with possible with our significant others. And that's what they are. They are the other halves of us. We'll always be brothers, and that will never change. But we both are going to live our lives and start our own families someday. Its just a part of life that we would eventually go our separate ways. We may be identical twins, but we aren't conjoined ones..."

"I guess that's true." Zack began laughing. "I guess I don't have to worry if I'm ever going to be an uncle anymore. I always wondered about that, but for some reason, Bailey actually really loves you. I still can't figure that one out..."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Gee...thanks."

"No offense, but she seems fairly normal. And you...well, you're you."

"Again...thanks."

"Hey, I'm happy for you." Zack laughed again. "Its kind of crazy, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"Think about how much our lives have changed since this time last year. I was aimless with no direction in life and dating girl after girl. You were miserable stuck in a relationship with a girl who was cheating on you. Now, we're both in happy relationships and we're both in college. I've found one girl who makes me only want to be with her, and you've found the one girl who actually wants to be with you..."

Cody sighed. "I can just feel the brotherly love..."

"Oh please. I've given you a hard time our whole lives. You've done the same to me. I mean it though, Codester. I've never seen you happier than I have in the past year, and I know I have Bailey to thank for that..." He grinned. "Besides, with you two being doctors, you two should have a big house one day. That means when I'm older and if something happens to Maya, I can come live with you two..."

Cody shook his head. "I'll think about it. Anyways, when we're that old, I seriously doubt we'll have a big house anymore as I'm sure our kids will probably be out on their own. Probably a house or condo just big enough for the two of us. So, if we do let you move in, the best you're looking at is the couch. But we'd have rules, and rule number one is no crazy parties! Besides, if something did happen to Maya, wouldn't you live with one of your kids?"

Zack laughed again. "Codester...they'd be one of my kids. They wouldn't want their old man cramping their style. Besides, with you, I'd at least know I was going to eat well..."

"For the third time...thanks." Cody checked his watch. "Anyways, I need to head out for a little bit. I have to go shopping with London and carry her bags again. And I have some shopping of my own to do."

"For what?"

"That Monday after she gets into Boston is Bailey's birthday. I need to find just the right birthday present for her."

Zack shrugged. "Sounds easy enough...girls love jewelry or perfume or stuff like that."

Cody paused. "Maybe. She does loves the perfume I already bought her even though it was all I could afford then. And jewelry, I did buy her that ring in Jamaica. But for Valentine's Day, I made her a stuffed pig, and she really loved it. If I got her jewelry, I know she'd love it. But Bailey's different than other girls...she's special. I want to give her something that will show her just how special she is to me."

Zack turned back to the video game. "Good luck with that..."

A couple of hours later, Cody was thankful for a break. He was learning to despise the words 'Summer Clearance Sale' as London was going even more overboard than usual. They were taking a break in a jewelry store while London was demanding to try on everything. Cody sat down the bags and figured he could do some window shopping himself. There were several cases that had really nice things, but he knew he was at least ten years away from being able to afford anything in them. So, he made his way over to the clearance case and began looking at it. And that's when he saw something that caught his eye, and he flagged down a salesperson.

"Can I take a look at that?"

She just looked at him. "Okay..."

Cody looked at the object in his hand and thought it would be perfect. "How much?"

"Well, normally, it would be $200, but its on clearance now for $50."

Cody grinned. "I'll take it! Do you do engraving?"

London walked over and stood next to him. "You're actually going to buy that?"

"Yeah. Bailey's birthday is coming up soon. I think she'll like it."

She shrugged. "Well, I'd be aghast if Todd gave it to me, but I think you're right. That is something she'd actually like. It sweet and sappy and dull...just like you." She frowned. "But its silver and not gold!"

Cody laughed. "London, I can't even afford gold plating right now..."

She just looked at him. "Wow...you really are poor!"

Finally, the final week of their summer jobs began for both Cody and Bailey. And for Bailey, that final week meant she also had to begin getting all of her things packed up again. Spreading it out over the whole week made things a lot easier. By Friday, she was almost completely packed and ready for her flight out the next morning. But she still had one more day of work to get through. And on that day, Doc Johnson took her out to lunch.

"Well, Bailey...you've been invaluable to me this summer. As far as I'm concerned, you'll always have a job in my office whenever you want one."

She smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Johnson. I appreciate that. I've really learned a lot this summer."

He nodded. "I'd love to have you back next summer...if you're going to be back in Kettlecorn that is..."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Doc Johnson smiled and laughed. "Oh please. Its been obvious to everyone in town that you've missed that boy like crazy. The week he was here, we saw a completely different Bailey. You were always smiling and everything was right in your world. I just figured you might do something to make sure you had that feeling all the time. Like maybe moving to Boston full time time next summer..."

She paused. "I...I don't know. Its not something we've talked about yet. I mean...I like the sound of not being separated from him again, but I wouldn't get to see my family that much anymore..."

"That didn't stop you from going away to Yale for college."

"True..."

"And look at your older sisters. Do they stop by the farm all that often? I mean...aren't they busy with their own lives and families?"

"Well, yeah. But they are still close by if there is an emergency..."

He smiled. "So are you...during the summer. During the school year, you'd be just as far away as you would be in the summer. Look, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I'd love to have you back over Christmas and next summer. I just know how happy you were when Cody was here. And I know how excited you were leading up to both times you were going to see him. Its okay to live your own life. Where ever it may be..."

"Maybe you're right..."

"I know how much that boy means to you..." He grinned. "Remember, I'm not just your boss. I'm also your doctor. I had to order in that shot for you to take. I know just how close you two really are. And your desk is full of pictures of the two of you. Kettlecorn is your past. Its not necessarily your present or your future. Besides, we're all proud of you going off to make something of yourself. Just think about what I've said."

Bailey nodded. "I will."

Friday night was to be Bailey's last night in Kettlecorn until she came back for Christmas break. And her family was throwing her a going away party of sorts. All of her family and some of her old friends were at the house to wish her well as she was about to begin her second year at Yale. As the party was winding down that night, Bailey was sitting on on the front porch when her mother sat down on the porch swing with her.

"Everything okay, Bailey?"

She turned to her Mom and smiled. "Yeah, everything's great, Mom. I was just sitting here thinking."

"About what?"

"About how different me heading to school this year is from how it was last year..."

Eunice smiled. "I would say so. This past year of your life has been a big one for you. This time last year, you weren't happy and about to begin a new adventure that you were so unsure about. You had a lot of uncertainty in your life. But now, you don't. Bailey, I've never seen you as happy as you've been since New Year's Eve. And yeah, you're still in the middle of your adventure, but you've found yourself one heck of a co-pilot to go on it with you. I know you, Honey...you can't wait to get back there now."

Bailey smiled back. "That obvious, huh?"

"Yeah, it is. But that's a good thing. I remember being worried last year about how you would fit in and if you would be okay off in a strange place by yourself.." She grinned. "This time, I have no such qualms. Heck, I'm sending you off to a strange city to stay with someone I've only talked to on the phone a handful of times, and I'm not worried about you at all. I know you're in good hands."

"Yeah, I know its a hotel, but its like everyone is their own little family there."

"Just don't forget about us. Make sure you call us every once in a while so we know how you're doing..."

"Momma, I won't. And I'll be back before you know it."

"I know. It'll be good to have you home for Christmas."

Bailey frowned. "What about Thanksgiving?"

Eunice just looked at her. "Please. You know as well as I do that you were thinking of spending it in Boston again."

Bailey blushed. "Well...the thought had crossed my mind..."

Eunice laughed. "I don't blame you. It is your life after all. Besides, I'm not too proud to admit that Cody is a much better cook than I am. You two did get the blue ribbon after all..."

The next morning, Clyde, Eunice and Bailey loaded all of her bags into the back of the family truck. Bailey hugged her Grammy and her sisters goodbye before she and her parents began the drive towards Kettlepot. Once at the airport, all of her bags were x-rayed before being placed on a luggage cart to wait to be loaded. Finally, about eleven that morning, the Tipton plane landed.

Clyde and Eunice walked Bailey out to the plane as her bags were being loaded.

"Do you have everything you need?"

Bailey nodded. "Yes, Momma. I think have everything I need packed up."

"Well, if you forgot anything, let us know, and we'll mail it to you."

Clyded nodded. "Other than that, take care of yourself, Pumpkin. And I know you're birthday is on Monday. You tell that Cody that he better make it a memorable one for you..."

Bailey was about to say something when all three of them heard a voice.

"You don't have to worry about that. I already have a full day planned."

They all turned and saw Cody walking down the steps of the plane and smiling at them. Bailey was caught completely off guard. But that didn't stop her from running over to him and hugging him tightly.

"Cody! What are you doing here?"

He kept smiling. "I wasn't going to miss seeing you a couple of hours early for anything in the world. Besides, London wants us to do another delivery..."

She laughed. "Oh, she does, huh? What is it this time?"

"We're making a stop in Lexington, Kentucky on the way back. Fried chicken is London's favorite food, and she wants us to pick her up some Kentucky Fried Chicken. And she wants us to say hello to the Colonel for her..."

Bailey paused. "But there is a KFC just down the street from the Tipton..."

Cody laughed. "I know that and you know that. But again, she thinks it makes it more authentic somehow. Plus, it gave me a chance to come and pick you up myself. I wasn't about to argue."

Bailey just shook her head. "Something tells me I'll never figure London Tipton out..."

"Trust me. I'm going on seven years now, and I've given up trying. London is just going to be London, but she's still a good friend. Now, you ready to head back to New England? I have to warn you...the heatwave is still going on in force."

Bailey smiled. "More than. Today is the day I've been waiting for all summer."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Some good or bad news depending on how you view it. The final chapter of this story will be Chapter 75. I never expected it to go on this long. And I know I say I've been working on my follow up to Graduation. Its a third done now. I apologize for not working on my other stories, but my bar exam is about three weeks away now. So, my mind and energies have been focused elsewhere. Anyways, I love the 4th of July as much as anyone, but I'll be glad when tomorrow comes, and it will stop sounding like I live in a war zone. I swear I hear an explosion at least every 30 seconds.**__  
><em>_


	68. Back to Boston Part Six

_Chapter 68_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

As Cody and Bailey were talking, they completely forgot about everything and everyone around them. Well, they did until they heard someone clearing their throat. Both turned to find Clyde and Eunice just looking at them.

Cody had a nervous laugh. "Ummm...Sorry about that. Its good to see you again, Eunice and Clyde."

Eunice just laughed. "Good to see you again too, Cody. And don't worry about it. I know its been six weeks since you've last seen each other in person. We completely understand."

Cody paused and his eyes went open. "Oh my gosh...I almost forgot." He ran back up the steps into the plane and re-emerged a few minutes later. And when he returned, he had two bags in his hands. "I have a couple of things for you both from Boston." He handed a smaller bag to Eunice. "Chef Paulo is thinking about writing his own cookbook for desserts and and other confections. He wanted me to test some of his new recipes for him, but I won't be able to at school. So, I suggested the other best cook I know might want to give them a shot and see what she thought."

Eunice laughed. "I'd be happy too."

Cody turned to Clyde and smiled. "And I believe I told you I'd try to get this for you..."

Clyde opened the bag and pulled out a round piece of polished wood. "What is it?"

"Its the seat from one of the actual stools in the Cheers bar. I believe you'll see its has a few extra things on it."

Clyde looked again and noticed it contained the signatures of several of the former cast members of Cheers. He just looked at it in awe. "Wow...I don't know what to say."

Cody smiled again. "Well, getting that was easy. Finding a birthday gift for your bright and beautiful daughter is a whole different story..."

Bailey shook her head. "Cody...You didn't have to get me anything..."

He laughed. "Now you tell me. Besides, I've already got it, and I don't think they'll let me take it back now."

Eunice grinned. "So, what are your plans once you get back."

"Well, the dorms open on Wednesday, and Bailey and I scheduled appointments with our adviser on Friday morning. I think our plan is to head back to New Haven on Thursday. Until then, just take it easy and rest up before school starts back." He turned to Bailey. "Maya's actually in town visiting again this weekend. BC doesn't start back until after Labor Day, so they have a couple of weeks before they start back. If you're not too tired or jet lagged, we've bought four tickets for a ten o'clock showing of the new Batman movie tonight..."

Bailey smiled. "Kind of another double date like we had over Thanksgiving?"

"Something like that."

Bailey turned to her parents. "Well, I guess we should get going then..." She walked up to them and hugged them each again. "You all take care of yourselves. And take care of Grammy too. I know she's feisty and says she can take care of herself, but..."

Clyde smiled. "We will, but she's a Pickett. We're tough."

Cody grinned. "You can say that again..."

Bailey just gave him a look before turning back to her parents. "I'll call you when we land in Boston to let you know we arrived there safely."

And with that, Cody and Bailey boarded the Tipton Jet. And twenty minutes later, Clyde and Eunice just stood there and watched as the plane took off and disappeared into the eastern sky. Aboard the plane, Cody and Bailey buckled up through take off and began to relax once they reached their cruising altitude. And once they did, they just sat back and relaxed. Of course, Bailey couldn't help but notice when Cody let out a huge yawn.

She grinned. "And you were worried about me being tired?"

He grinned back. "Well, I have been up since 5:30 this morning so I could be at the airport by 7:30. Plus, I did sleep on the couch last night."

"Why did you do that?"

Cody shrugged. "I made a deal with Zack. I told him I'd sleep on the couch last night and we would tonight and tomorrow night so he could have the room to be alone with Maya while she was in town. In return, he's heading back to New York with Maya for a few days, and we'll have the room to ourselves Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night."

She nodded. "Probably a good idea. It would probably have been a little weird to sleep in there by yourself with them, and it would probably be a little weird for us to sleep in there with him by himself."

"Kind of what I was thinking."

She smiled. "Anyways, you'll be more jet lagged than I will be. You will have flown halfway across the country and back ."

"Maybe a little. But I have you here with me now, so that's all that matters to me."

"Well, maybe we should get our rest then on the flight back. It'll make us refreshed for when we get there..."

Cody grinned. "There you go again with your impeccable thinking..."

Both cuddled up on the leather couch in the plane and got comfortable. And as they laid there, both had their eyes closed and were feeling very relaxed. Well, that was until Bailey remembered what Doc Johnson had said.

"Cody?"

"Uh huh?"

"Is next summer going to be like this one too?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I don't know, Bails. I don't want it to be, but I don't know what we can do about it. We both need the work experience during the summer, and like you said, Doc Johnson is the only doctor in Kettlecorn. I seriously doubt he would need a second person working for him. Besides, I know your parents don't mind me staying with them for a week at a time when I'm visiting. But I couldn't expect them to house me and feed me for three months. I would never ask them to do anything like that..."

"They wouldn't mind at all Cody, but I know what you mean. I couldn't ask your Mom to house me and feed me for three months either if I were to find a job in Boston."

"She wouldn't mind either. In fact, I think she would welcome it. In her own words, she wouldn't have to deal with another summer of a miserable Cody."

Bailey smiled. "Same reason my parents wouldn't mind either."

Cody smiled back. "How about we just give it time? Who knows what may present it to us in before then. Besides, I have you back with me full time now. The last thing I want to think about is you being taken away from me again."

"Good idea. I think we should hold off on actually napping for a little bit though. I mean, we do have our stop left, and Kentucky is just on the other side of Missouri. We'd probably only be a sleep for a half hour before it was time to land again."

"Good call. But I can still enjoy laying here and holding you again until then."

And Bailey was right. About forty five minutes later, they were landing at Bluegrass Field in Lexington, Kentucky. Once again, someone was waiting for them with a thermal bag with the delivery for London. And thirty minutes after they landed, they were airborne again. This time, they got their nap in as they had almost three hours before they would get to Boston. Both were sleeping so well that the flight attendant had to wake them up to begin their descent towards Logan International. Once they landed, it was time to pack all of Bailey's things into Cody's car. As they did, he turned to her and laughed.

"Why do I have the feeling we're going to have fun loading the car up on Thursday? And I think its going to be an adventure driving all the way to New Haven with the car packed to the gills with everything..."

She laughed too. "I think you're right. We probably want to make sure we have the car gassed up and snacks for us inside before we pack up. That way, we don't have to make any stops on the way."

"Yeah, that would probably be best. You ready to head home?"

"Yeah, lets go."

Thirty minutes later, they pulled back into the underground parking garage at the Boston Tipton. Cody grabbed a luggage cart, and they began unloading all of Bailey's things on to it. And when they were done, Bailey just smiled at him.

"What?"

"I can definitely see your hard work has paid off. You just did all of that with hardly any effort."

He smiled back at her. "Thank you."

She grinned again. "I definitely can't wait to see what other effects its had on you. Though, part of me is kind of scared..."

Cody was concerned. "Of what?"

"Before, it was completely amazing. I'm worried now it would be you who might end up killing me this time..."

Cody laughed. "Well, I've had an entire summer working for a doctor. I'd just revive you by giving you more mouth to mouth."

She grinned. "Works for me then."

Fifteen minutes later, they were back on the 24th floor. Once inside the suite, they found Carey, Zack and Maya all sitting on the couch watching something on TV. Bailey hugged everyone hello again, but when it came time to unload her stuff into the front closet, everyone else had settled themselves back on the couch. She turned to Cody, and he just shrugged. So, she went with it, and they busied themselves loading Bailey's bags next to her trunk, the box of their books, and the container containing all of Cody's winter clothes.

Of course, by then it was getting close to six o'clock, so everyone just kind of hung around the suite until it was time for Carey to head down for her microphone check. After she did, the four teens talked about what they wanted to do before the movie. Maya suggested that since it would be kind of like the double date from Thanksgiving, they should go back to the same pizza place as before. Everyone seemed agreeable to that.

So, about eight o'clock, they headed out for the evening. And as they were sitting around the table, they were talking.

Maya grinned. "So, while things have changed since the last time we did this, you two still insist on the pet names for each other..."

Bailey laughed. "What can we say...we like them."

Zack shook his head. "I'm just glad this isn't like the first time Cody and I were on a double date here..."

Maya turned to him. "Oh, and why is that?"

He sighed. "Well, you see...we were here with these twins, Jessica and Janice that I met a twins convention at the hotel..."

Bailey interrupted. "Are these the British ones?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, that's them..."

Bailey grinned and turned to Cody. "Finally, I get to hear this story..."

Cody just shook his head as Zack continued to tell both of the girls the story. "And they both felt so sorry for him, they took him off to the movies, and they paid for his ticket! I was left sitting here wondering what the hell had just happened..."

Cody couldn't help it, but he was laughing.

Zack continued. "And he had brunch with them the next and he was humming some kind of British song around the suite for days..."

Bailey just looked at Cody. "Is that so?"

He swallowed. "Well...maybe a little. But you can ask Zack...All summer, I've been humming Carry on Wayward Son and Dust in the Wind..." (_Two songs by the rock group Kansas)_

Bailey just laughed. "I was just teasing you, Sweetie."

Zack shook his head. "Of course, the worst is when we went on another double date with the twins, and both of them were curled up with both of their heads on Cody's shoulder. That one stung too..."

Bailey turned and looked at Cody again. "Oh really?"

Cody held up his hands. "Back when I was young and dumb..."

"Hmmm..." She smiled. "I'm not sure I like you using my own line like that..."

Zack rubbed his chin. "Young and dumb...I'll have to remember that excuse for later."

Maya shook her head. "Yeah, we'll see how far that gets you..."

But before long, they had to be heading on to the theater. And around one in the morning, they left the theater talking about the movie amongst themselves.

"That movie was awesome!"

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised."

Bailey turned to him. "Why's that? The first two movies were amazing."

"I know, but after the way the Spider-Man movies ended with Spider-Man 3, I was wary..."

Zack nodded. "I know what you mean. That movie sucked!"

Maya nodded her agreement too. "I know. I hate it when movie series or television shows end with duds."

Bailey sighed. "Tell me about it. Its like the completely forgot what made them so good and successful in the first place. And when they do produce a stinker, they wonder why people are so upset."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: I know its July 5, but if you heard an explosion earlier, that was Nancy Grace's head exploding. She is losing her mind over the Casey Anthony verdict. I admit I am more defense oriented, but I think it was the correct verdict. The prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that CA was guilty. Hell, they couldn't even prove how the child was killed.**__  
><em>_


	69. Double Trouble

_Chapter 69_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Since everyone had a late night the night before, they all slept in on Sunday morning. Even Cody and Bailey. Sort of. They were still up by 9:30 that morning. And with everyone else still asleep, they went ahead and cooked breakfast. The smell of blueberry pancakes emanating from the kitchen did seem to wake everyone else up though. After breakfast was over, Carey asked them what they were going to get into that day. And the four them looked around at each other, but not a one of them had any plans for that day or any ideas for what to do. So, Carey suggested they do something that she and her boys used to do all the time when they were younger – go bowling.

Cody paused. "I assume you're going to invite Arwin. I know the last time he got over his aversion to bowling, but has he gone back since?"

Carey laughed. "Yeah, he and I were actually in a league together over the winter. And we're going to join another one this fall..."

Zack and Cody just looked at their mother. "Oh really? You know, Codester...Something tells me that Mom and Arwin might be more serious than we knew. Joining a bowling league together is a rather big step. I think we have the right to know all about this, don't you?"

Cody was planning on keeping his mouth shut, but Carey smirked at her oldest. "Oh, you do do you? So, are we going to sit around the breakfast table talking about just how serious all of our relationships are?"

That shut Zack up, and Cody sighed. "I think we should keep the status quo. And I think bowling sounds like a wonderful idea..."

Quickly, Zack, Maya and Bailey nodded their agreement. So, after everyone got cleaned up, they headed down to the lobby to wait on Arwin to join them. And as they hung around the lobby, Carey went to check on something in the cabaret while the four teens just hung around waiting. And as they did, they were just standing there when they heard two accented voices.

"Zack!"

"Cody!"

Everyone turned around and saw two stunning blondes heading straight for them. The next thing they knew, each twin felt himself being engulfed in a giant bear hug. And as they were, both Maya and Bailey thought they were seeing double again. Once the twins were released, they got a chance to really see who had just tried to squeeze the the life out of them.

"Jessica?"

"Janice?"

Jessica smiled. "That's me!"

Janice smiled. "That's me!"

Maya and Bailey both just saw two beautiful young ladies standing there that looked exactly alike, dressed exactly alike and were staring at their boyfriends like hungry dogs looking at a bone. For their part, Zack and Cody were surprised to see their old friends again.

Zack shook his head. "What are you two doing here? I thought you two were back in London?"

Janice just kept grinning at him. "We were, but we're models now. We're back in Boston for a holiday before another one of our assignments."

Jessica nodded. "Yeah, for a holiday before one of our assignments. Maybe you two could come check it out tomorrow?"

Cody shook his head. "Sorry, I can't. Tomorrow is..." He paused and shook his head. "Where are my manners? Jessica, Janice, this is my girlfriend and the girl of my dreams, Bailey Pickett. Bails, this is Jessica and Janice Ellis. We were just talking about them last night."

Bailey plastered a fake smile on her face. "Yeah, we did. What a coincidence..."

Maya nodded. "Tell me about it..."

Zack immediately spoke up. "And this is my girlfriend, Maya Bennett."

Jessica grabbed Cody's arm. "We'd really love it if you could be there tomorrow. It'd be nice to have familiar faces around and then maybe we could all catch up afterwards. We've really missed you both..."

Cody smiled and shook his head. "Well, like I said, we can't. Tomorrow is Bailey's birthday, and I already have a full day planned to celebrate it."

Jessica frowned. "Oh pooh..."

Zack wasn't an idiot, and he saw an opening to get himself out of an awkward situation too. "Yeah, and Maya and I are going to be hanging out with them. Sorry, girls..."

Janice frowned. "Oh pooh..."

But Jessica had not let up her grip on Cody's arm. "So, I hear you're at Yale and planning on being a physician. I must say you will make an bloody smashing one! I may have to make you my personal one..."

Cody smiled again. "I appreciate that, but I have no idea what specialty I want to go into yet..."

"You'll have to keep me informed then when you do...If I'm still a model, you could be my plastic surgeon!"

Cody shrugged. "Well, if I choose that path...Maybe."

Bailey could only look on in surprise, and she found herself glaring at Cody. But before she could say anything, Carey returned from the cabaret and Arwin had showed up. Bailey grabbed Cody's other arm and pulled him away.

"Look, your Mom and Arwin are here. We should get going..." And with that, she dragged Cody outside. He just barely had time to wave goodbye to the other twins. Of course, once outside, Cody turned to her and noticed the look on her face.

"Bails? Is everything okay?"

She just kept glaring at him. "Is everything okay? That girl was just openly flirting with you right in front of me, and you didn't do anything about it!"

Cody just looked at her funny. "Flirting with me? I don't think so. Jessica is an old friend who I haven't seen in years. We were just catching up..."

"An old friend? You two used to date!"

"Yeah...back in middle school. That was a long, long time ago. Like I told you last night, it was when I was young and dumb. But she wasn't flirting with me. I mean, you did hear me tell her that you were my girlfriend and the girl of my dreams, right?"

"Well...yeah, but that didn't stop her, and neither did you!"

Cody paused. "You really think she was flirting with me?"

"Of course she was! How could you not notice?"

"Because you're the only girl I notice. When you have the best, you don't worry about the rest."

Bailey paused too. "Really?"

He smiled. "Of course. Remember, it was you I was pining away for all summer. I just got you back to me yesterday, and I'm not letting go. If she was flirting with me, she was just wasting her time. I promise you...if she was, it never registered to me that was what she was doing."

"But she's a model..."

Cody smiled again. "So? You could be too if you wanted to be. Because to me, you are my model of perfection..."

She smiled. "Cody, I appreciate that, but I'm not perfect..."

"Maybe not, but you're perfect for me. Besides, you're one of a kind. If you noticed, those two still dress and talk a like. If Zack and I acted like that, I hope someone would kick our butts."

Bailey laughed. "Not a chance, you two are as different as can be..."

"Well, I grew up being considered half of a matching set. I love the way you see me. You make me feel like I'm one of a kind too."

"Because you are."

"And I'm all yours. Never have any doubt of that. Other girls can try to flirt if they want, but I won't notice. You're the one I'm head over heels in love with, and the only one I want..."

She smiled again. "I know. Sorry for letting my jealousy get the best of me for a minute."

"Don't worry about it. All I ask is that if something is bothering you, just talk to me. I know I can be kind of slow on some things, but if you tell me, I will do my best to ease all of your concerns."

She leaned up and kissed him. "I know that too. Come on, lets go bowling."

And that's what they did. The afternoon was spent at the local bowling alley. They all played several games, and naturally, Arwin did the best. In his final game, he almost rolled a perfect game, but Carey gave him a kiss before his last ball. He didn't faint, but he went off into la la land. The end result was a gutter ball, but he didn't care. As for everyone else, Cody was hyped that his average was a 118. He didn't even mind that Bailey beat him with an average of a 121. Both were happy they found an activity that they seemed to be evenly matched at, and they vowed it would be something they did again.

The next morning, Bailey woke up on the pull out couch and reached over for Cody, but he wasn't there. She opened her eyes to look around, and she spotted Cody with his back to her making breakfast. As quietly as she could, she crept out of bed, walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Good morning."

He turned and smiled at her. "Good morning...and Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. I was planning on surprising you with breakfast in bed..."

She smiled back. "I appreciate the thought. But I'd rather have breakfast with you."

"I think I can handle that. Are you ready for an action packed birthday?"

"I think so. What do you have planned?"

"Well, first off...you're finally going to get your trip to the water park I promised you."

Bailey lit up. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Zack and Maya are going with us now, but they're going to have leave early. Maya has to drive back to New York tonight, and Zack is going with her for a few days. They want to spend more time together before BC starts back."

"I think of anyone, we can understand that feeling."

"Very true. And after we're done there, we have a reservation for two and a special birthday dinner for you."

She smiled. "Mmmm. I like the sound of that."

"And then I thought we could move to the ballroom and see how many of our dance lessons we remembered..."

Bailey leaned in and kissed him. "Sounds absolutely perfect to me."

"Well, lets eat then and get it started."

So, that's what they did. After eating, they got cleaned up and changed into their swimsuits and through on clothes over top of them. A little while later, Zack and Maya were ready, and they all headed out. They were there about ten in the morning, and with it being a Monday, the park wasn't as crowded as it could be. And for the next several hours, they went on every ride they wanted to. When it was time for lunch, they ate from one of the concession stands. After lunch, Zack and Maya headed for the lazy river to relax while Cody and Bailey headed for the wave pool.

After a couple of hours of acting like kids again, they got out and laid back in some of the lounge chairs. Cody turned to her.

"Having fun?"

Bailey nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I am. This has been a blast. A day to do nothing and just be a little silly. It kind of reminds me of the day we built the snowman and had the snowball fight last semester. And of course, it reminds me of our spring break on the ship. Its good to have days where you can just get away for a little while to recharge your batteries."

"I agree." He looked over and smiled. "You up for a snow cone?"

"I'd love one!"

A few hours later, Zack and Maya found them again to say their goodbyes. They wished Bailey a happy birthday again, and said if they didn't see then before, they would see them again at Thanksgiving. Once they left, Cody and Bailey just continued relaxing before having one more circuit of all of the rides before they left themselves.

About seven o'clock, they were getting a little tired, so they left themselves. They headed back to the Tipton hotel and got cleaned up again. This time, Cody changed into his suit, and Bailey into one of her dresses. At eight-thirty, they headed downstairs and to the hotel's restaurant. And despite rolling his eyes, Patrick lead them to a private table on a terrace.

"Cody, where are the menus?"

He grinned. "Chef Paulo is making you a special birthday dinner. I think you'll like it."

"Well, I've never eaten anything of his that wasn't delicious. So I'm sure I'll love it."

And she was right. Chef Paulo had made them his own distinct take on chicken pot pie. It wasn't what Bailey was used to, but it was delicious none the less. And after they ate dinner, Bailey was surprised when a group of waiters brought out a lit birthday cake for her. She was even more surprised when they and Cody began singing Happy Birthday to You to her. The waiters disappeared right after they finished singing.

Cody smiled at her. "Make a wish and blow out your candle..."

She shook her head. "No need to. I already have everything I want and need. I have you."

Cody reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box. "You don't have this yet..."

Bailey just shook her head and smiled. "You've already done enough for me today."

"I already told you I can't take this back..."

She opened the box, and found another velvet box inside. Opening it, she found a silver locket laying inside, and it took her breath away.

"Cody! Its beautiful!"

He smiled. "Open it up."

She did, and found a small picture of them from New Year's Eve on one side, and the other side was engraved. _"My heart belongs to you now and forever. All my love, Cody"_ She looked up and had tears forming in her eyes. "I love it..."

"Good. I thought it would match the ring I bought you. I figured it was something beautiful for someone beautiful..."

"Well, my heart belongs to you now and forever too. I love you."

"I love you too."

She smiled. "Of course, you know what you've done, right?"

"What?"

"I'm going to have to do something for your birthday to top this..."

He laughed. "Only if you want to."

"I do..." She grinned. "And we'll be all alone in New Haven for that..."

He grinned back. "Yeah, we will."

"Will you help me put this on?"

"Of course."

Cody helped her put it on, and after he did, Bailey leaned down and blew out the candle on her cake.

"Did you make a wish?"

She nodded. "I did..."

"What did you wish for?"

She just smiled at him. "I'll tell you when it comes true..."

__To be Continued...__


	70. Back to School Part Trace

_Chapter 70_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After dinner and dessert, Cody and Bailey headed off to the ballroom for a night of dancing. While both were a little rusty, neither had forgotten the dance lessons. But as it approached midnight, both were getting worn out after a long, exhaustive day. So, they happily returned to the 24th floor and got ready for bed. Zack may have been gone giving them the room to themselves, but Carey was still due back at any time. So, they just cuddled together as they both fell asleep.

Tuesday was set to be a free day to do as much or as little as they wanted. But their lack of plans changed when Esteban told them that a couple of guests had asked for passes to the Franklin Park Zoo but had to cancel at the last moment. So, he offered the passes to them free of charge. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Cody and Bailey spent the morning and early afternoon walking around the zoo and seeing all the animals. But the summer heat wave in Boston was continuing, so they left early to head back to the hotel's pool. That night, they headed out for another movie. Part of it was that it was a movie they both wanted to see, and part of it was to bask in the cool air conditioning of the cinema.

Wednesday was a day of preparation. The first thing they did that morning was do what laundry they needed to have done. Cody had just done his the week before, so combined, they didn't have all that much to do. Once they finished it though, they packed up all of their clothes except for what they were going to wear the next day. And once that was done, it was time to pack up the rest of Cody's things he would need at college. By noon, they had everything packed just waiting to be loaded. It was then they decided to head out to gas up the car to get that out of the way. They were going to hit up a store to get other things they would need but decided to wait to get to New Haven to do that. And that afternoon, they decided to get cold drinks and snacks to take with them down the street at the Paul Revere Mini-Mart. As as always, Wayne was there working, and he recognized Cody when he came inside.

"Cody!"

"Hey Wayne. Wayne, this is my girlfriend, Bailey. Bails, this is the store's assistant manager and my former boss, Wayne."

Wayne smiled. "I'm now the manager. I got promoted."

"Congratulations."

Bailey nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"What brings you back to your old haunts?"

"Just getting some cold drinks and snacks to take back with us to New Haven. We head back to college tomorrow."

Wayne laughed. "I didn't got to college, and see how well I'm doing?"

Cody just nodded. "Yeah..."

Wayne paused and smiled. "By the way...how are you Mom and London Tipton doing?"

Cody sighed. "Both are doing well...and quite happy with their boyfriends." He whispered to Bailey. "Don't ask. Long story and not very interesting..."

Wayne shrugged. "Oh well. Well, I hear you're off to medical school someday. Just think...you'll be a doctor, and I can then say I was the first person who hired you...then fired you...then rehired you..."

Cody plastered a fake smile on his face. "Yeah...I guess you can..."

Cody and Bailey bought a few things, and then left. But on their way home, Bailey smiled and turned to Cody.

"You got fired?"

Cody sighed again. "Yeah. I was already employed there when Zack got a job there too. Well, I ended up doing all the work, and Zack got all the credit for it. In my frustration, I turned to Arwin for help. He let me use a machine made that essentially gave me extra hands. And like most of Arwin's inventions, it went haywire and caused damage. And that's why Wayne fired me. He later hired me back though."

Bailey laughed. "You know...I can actually picture that in my mind. Should I call Daddy and tell him to keep an eye on the contraption you made in case it goes haywire?"

"It should be okay..." He paused. "...but might not be a bad idea."

Bailey just continued laughing. Once back at the hotel, they had the rest of the day to do whatever they wanted. But instead of heading back out into Boston to do whatever, they just ended up staying in and hanging out with Carey. And that was fine with her as well. She had gotten used to having her boys both with her all summer and was sad thinking they were going to be gone again soon. Sure, Zack still had a couple of more weeks before he moved back into his dorm, and he would still be just across town. Cody, on the other hand, was going to be three hours away, and she might not see him again in person until Thanksgiving break. The only comfort she had was that she knew he was happy, and she was certain Bailey would take good care of him. Plus, she knew he would be in his element in the halls of academia.

Thursday morning, Cody and Bailey woke up about 7:30 that morning. Instead of getting cleaned up immediately, they decided to wait until after they had packed up the car. While Cody went downstairs to get a luggage cart, Bailey began dragging everything out of the hall closet. And while she was doing that, Carey came out of her bedroom.

"You two really have to head back today?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah. We have appointments with our adviser first thing in the morning. And then we have to go get our books and take care of everything afterwards."

Carey sighed. "I guess you do then. I'm just going to miss having everyone around like I did this summer."

Bailey smiled. "Well, you'll still have Arwin and Esteban..."

"True. But it won't be the same as having my family around me." She smiled. "And I hope you know that I include you and Maya in that description."

"Thank you, Carey. That means more to me than I can say."

Carey smiled. "Well, its the truth. Ever since you first came here over Thanksgiving, you've been like one of the family. I want you to think of this suite as a home away from home."

Bailey smiled again. "I do. In a year's time, my life has changed so much for the better. I almost feel like a pseudo Bostonian now..."

"You are. I want my sons to be happy, and I know they are. And I know you'll take good care of my Cody while you're both at school. If I can't be there to keep watch over him myself, knowing you are is the next best thing..."

Bailey was about to say something when Cody returned to the suite with the luggage cart. And he was smiling.

"Time to see if all of my summer workouts have paid off..."

Carey laughed. "Well, you two get loaded up, and I'll have breakfast waiting for you when you're done..."

So, for the next half hour, Cody and Bailey loaded up all of their things on to the luggage cart. And by the time they were done, there wasn't an open place on it anywhere. Since it was so full, they had to be careful taking it down to the parking garage. And when they got there, they popped the trunk of the car. But before they began loading it, they stopped to find the best was to optimize space. The first thing to go in the car was the flat screen television as it was the most rigid and awkward piece. After that was Bailey's trunk, their books and Cody's plastic storage bin. Then, it was pushing and shoving bags into anywhere they would fit. By ten o'clock, the car was once again completely full.

Back upstairs, they both cleaned up and put their dirty clothes into a small bag. And by then, breakfast was ready. By eleven o'clock, it was time for them to head out. And Carey was being the usual overprotective mother.

"Do you have everything?"

Bailey nodded and laughed. "I sure hope so. There's no more room in the car."

"Do you have your Yale parking pass?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah, and its already hanging from the rear view mirror."

Carey sighed. "I guess this it then..." She hugged them both. "You two go and make us all proud. We'll be here. And I hope to see you both here for Thanksgiving!"

Bailey smiled. "We'll be here."

Fifteen minutes later, after a final bathroom break, they hopped in the car and were on their way back to New Haven. And since it was such a beautiful day, they took the path along the coast. Three hours later, they finally arrived in New Haven, and were lucky enough to find a parking spot right outside of Vanderbilt Hall. Normally, it was a dorm for freshmen only, but there was renovation being done at Berkeley that year. Once they turned off the car and stepped outside, both just took a minute to take in the sight of their campus home for the first time since May.

Cody turned to Bailey. "It looks exactly the same."

She nodded. "Yeah, it does. Cody...we're home."

He smiled at her. "Yeah, we are. How about we go get our keys and see how the old room is doing?"

She smiled back. "Yeah. I can't wait to see it again."

After checking in at the front desk, they both got their room assignments and keys. And as expected, they were both assigned to the same rooms as the year before. But this year, Bailey didn't foresee herself spending any amount of time in her old room. Heading down to the basement, they found their old room and opened the door to it for the first time in months. And it was exactly how they remembered leaving it - empty and bare.

"We have some work to do..."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, we do." He paused and looked both ways. "Check your old key to see if it still works."

"Good idea." Bailey did so, but her old key didn't work. She frowned. "It doesn't fit."

He smiled. "Well, we'll get you a copy of the one that does when we go out later. Hold on to that one as a memento of our freshman year though."

She nodded and smiled. "Even better idea."

Cody looked around and began to think. "Bails, I have an idea to make moving in a whole lot easier..."

"What's that?"

"Remember what we did to get your things into my room our first day last year?"

"Through the window?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I think that might be our best bet. We'll unload everything that isn't fragile or too heavy, pile it outside the window, one of us will head inside and the other will pass them things from the outside."

"Yeah, that does seem like it would work a whole lot easier and faster."

An hour later, they had finished unloading the car and transporting everything into their room. When they had, Cody checked his watch and saw it was a little past four o'clock.

"How about we go pick up our rental refrigerator while the place is still open. That way, it can begin to get cool while we're unpacking."

Bailey nodded. "Good call. That way when we hit the store later, we'll be able to get perishable items."

So, that's what they did. They picked up their fridge, and carried it back into the room once the got back. Once it was plugged in and running, that's when the fun really started. Getting out a small notebook they had kept out for the sole purpose, they both wrote down things they were going to need to get at the store later. Another hour later, and the room was beginning to resemble their old home of the last semester. Once everything was unpacked, Cody turned to Bailey again.

"One more thing left to do." He got down on his hands and knees and looked underneath his desk and chair. "Okay, these are both the ones I marked. Lets go find yours."

Fifteen minutes later, they had found Bailey's and carried them both back in to the room. And once they did, both slumped down into their desk chairs. After everything they had done, both were now sweating and exhausted. Cody checked his watch again.

"Six o'clock. How about we give ourselves time to rest, and then we can go out and hit the store and grab some food to bring back?"

"Sounds good to me. We'll give our stomachs one more day before we subject them to the dining hall."

Cody laughed. "You're telling me. I love our room, but I would love it if we had our own kitchenette."

After relaxing, they got back up and headed for the closest Wal-Mart. And once they got everything they needed, they grabbed some fast food and took it back to the dorm with them. They pulled out their trays and had their first meal together back on campus. And with cable provided to them, they had the TV to watch as they did. Once done, they unpacked the stuff they had bought, and Bailey found an interesting item in one of the bags.

"Ummm...Cody...why did we buy baby powder?"

He turned to look at her. "Oh, I picked that up. I've used it all summer."

She laughed. "That was your bottle in the bathroom in the suite? I thought it was your Mom's! Do I dare ask why you've been using it?"

He paused and looked a little embarrassed. "Well, this summer has been a particularly brutal and very hot and humid. The baby powder helps me keep...certain parts of me dry and prevents chafing..."

Bailey kept laughing. "You're serious?"

He nodded. "I am. And Zack laughed too when I first used it. But he tried it once, and he became a true believer too."

She just shook her head. "Whatever works for you..."

"Uh huh...Try it once, and you'll see what I mean..."

She smiled. "Maybe I will. But I was thinking since we have everything done for the night, maybe we could do something we haven't done since the 4th of July. I'm still sweaty and could use another shower..."

Cody smiled back. "Don't have to ask me twice..."

The next morning, they were woken up early by Bailey's rooster alarm clock. After cleaning up and getting dressed, they made their way across campus to their adviser's office. And fortunately for them, the schedules they had planned out turned into fruition. Ten minutes after they got there, they were out of the door again. After stopping by the bookstore to get their books and supplies, they were back in their room again.

Cody had to nod. "You're right. Getting the bookshelf was definitely a good call. I think we're ready for class on Wednesday."

Bailey nodded too. "And you were right. I tried the powder today, and...well...I'm a believer too."

Cody laughed and pulled her down on to his lap. "Told you so. Bails, I'd never lead you astray..."

"I know. I'm just glad it just you and me again. After a summer apart, I'm just happy to be back like this again."

"Me too. And we have four days to do whatever we want. I was thinking we'd hit up the beach one day. Maybe on Monday so it won't be so crowded."

"Good idea." She sighed in contentment.

"What?"

"I'm just happy. Our lives are back to normal, and we are about to begin school again. Everything is the way it should be." She paused and smiled. " And I think we should go out to eat tonight to celebrate."

"Yeah?"

She smiled. "Yeah. You know what you were doing a year ago today?"

He paused to think and smiled back. "Uh huh. I was about to meet this beautiful young coed from Kansas who would change my life forever..."

She leaned in and kissed him. "Mine's changed forever too. And it keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to see what the rest of our lives have in store for us."

__To be Continued...__


	71. Flash Forward to the Future

_Chapter 71_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

That weekend, Cody and Bailey finally ran into Monica who had just gotten back to campus, and they all caught each other up on what happened over their summers. And on Monday, she and her boyfriend, George, joined them for a day at the beach. It was viewed as one final time to do nothing before school started back on Wednesday. And when Wednesday morning finally arrived, they headed across campus to begin their sophomore years. And from the start, they followed their same routine that had worked so well for them the last semester of their freshman years. This even included their modified routine during exam periods. And it continued to work well for them.

When Thanksgiving came around, Bailey's family completely understood that it was just easier for her to go back to Boston with Cody since she would only be home for a couple of days anyways. This lead to a pattern that would be followed the Thanksgiving breaks of their junior and senior years as well. Christmas breaks worked a little different. The plan was for Bailey to go to Boston for a few days before flying home to Kettlecorn for Christmas. And once Christmas was over, Cody would fly out there to join her. They would stay there until early in the new year so they could be there to celebrate their anniversary the same way they celebrated their first official date – the barn dance at the Hornswaggle farm.

Unfortunately, their summers never got easier. Bailey would go back to Kettlecorn to continue working with Doc Johnson while Cody would continue working for the clinic in Boston. But every summer, Cody would fly in for the Mulch Festival while Bailey would fly in to Boston to celebrate the 4th of July. They also decided to take a long weekend doing something they would both enjoy to break up the long stretch between the 4th of July and Bailey returning back to Boston to return back to school. One summer, they met in Washington, D.C, and the other one, they went to Disney World. Of course, it didn't hurt that London volunteered to spring for both trips. As Cody was her producer and personal assistant those summers, she figured a happy Cody was a productive Cody.

And those weren't the only trips they went on. Every spring break, they would return back to the S.S. Tipton for another ten day cruise of the Caribbean. And they weren't alone. Zack and Maya became unofficial personal assistants for London during the school year, and she rewarded them with their own spring break cruises. However, they only got a one week spring break, so they didn't get to stay as long as Cody and Bailey did on the boat.

However, all of them...even London...were fascinated by the idea of the high school on the cruise ship. And all of them agreed that it would have been a fun experience to have tried. Cody and Bailey even sat in on one of Emma Tutweiler's classes while they were on the boat. When they left, they were questioning her teaching credentials even more than they had before. But still the idea of traveling the world and all the education experiences the students were getting still seemed like an idea they would have killed for.

Speaking of Zack and Maya, they were still going strong as well. Zack had long since seen the upside of being in a committed relationship. He quickly realized that he didn't always have to be on his game and try to impress Maya. After a while, Maya knew exactly who he was and still wanted to be with him. And he was okay with that. Zack was still a little reserved though. While, Woody and Maya would switch rooms every so often, Zack wasn't sure he was ready to live full time with Maya like Cody and Bailey were. And Maya was okay with that. She was more than happy for them to move along at their own pace. Of course, hearing Zack tell her that he loved her and realizing he actually meant it went a long towards that.

And while Maya had an idea of what she was majoring in, Zack still did not early on. So, he was more than happy to just knock all of his prerequisites out of the way. But, eventually, he ran out of those and had to make a choice. And when he did, it surprised everyone what he chose. He too went for a double major in business management and hospitality/hotel, restaurant administration. Word is Mr. Moseby passed out when he heard the news. But Zack realized that having grown up in a hotel, the inner workings of it was something had grown to know well. So, he was actually looking forward to it. Plus, he figured he had in inside connection when it came time to get a job.

Boston had two new residents. Maddie and Trevor decided to move back there to be closer to their families. Having both already graduated college, they both got jobs and entered the real world. However, Maddie had to quit hers after a year as she found out she was expecting their first child, and she wanted to be a stay at home Mom for a few years.

London was...well...London. She was still dating Todd, but she continued to jet set around the world while he was finishing dental school. She figured she would get it out of her system before Todd returned to Boston full time. Neither of their fathers was happy about the coupling, but both knew not to push too far if they ever wanted to see any future grandchildren. She still did occasional episodes of Yay Me!, but she became more focused on her own clothing line which she ran out of her penthouse at the hotel.

Speaking of the Tipton hotel, there was another couple there that was still together as well. Despite how ridiculous it sounded to her at times, Carey realized that Arwin was exactly what she was looking for in a guy. Not only was he kind and considerate, but he had always been fond of her boys. And with them having lives of their own, Carey decided it was quite okay for her to have one too.

Of course, Arwin had taken them catching the bouquet and the garter pretty seriously. And the second summer after Maddie's wedding, he proposed himself. To say that caught Carey off guard would be an understatement. But while she sat there shocked into silence, she actually thought about it. And she decided it was actually something she wanted to do. She told Arwin she needed to talk to Zack and Cody first, but if they had no objections to it, her answer would be yes. And to his credit, Arwin completely understood that. And to both of their reliefs, neither Zack nor Cody had any objection and actually wished them the best.

For his own part, Kurt was happy as well. He was still touring with his band and about to begin working on his next album. As for his personal life, he was still playing the field. But he did meet a woman a couple of years his junior that he was thinking about seeing if it could go anywhere. After seeing how happy his boys were in committed relationships, he figured he might give it another try himself.

In Kettlecorn, life on the farm continued on as it had before. Bailey's sisters were now all in high school themselves, and one of them had even applied to go to Seven Seas High after hearing Bailey mention it. Getting a letter of recommendation from London Tipton certainly helped her chances of getting accepted. Everyone else continued doing what they did. Clyde was still a farmer, and continued to work hard everyday. Eunice was still a farmer's wife, and she continued her best to provide a good home for her family. And Grammy Pickett? She was still as sharp and feisty as ever.

Alas, poor Moose didn't make out so well. It seems he overestimated how much people around Kettlecorn liked him. After what he did to Bailey, his reputation took a huge hit with a large part of Kettlecorn. And after what happened with Betty Lou, he had become even more of a laughing stock in town. When his grandmother found out that he had tried to blackmail Bailey, she was livid. She had him on a short leash, and he couldn't do anything about it because she was the one who actually owned all the family property. She had threatened to disinherit him if he did anything stupid like that again. The final blow was when a picture of him having pissed his pants began circulating around town. No one was quite sure how it had gotten out, and neither Bailey nor Cody were responsible. Moose decided that Kettlecorn had too many bad memories for him, so he decided to leave town himself. There was rumor that he had moved up to Alaska and was driving a truck, but no one could confirm it.

Speaking of cheaters, that brings us to Barbara and Bob. Barbara continued going to Harvard while Bob was working in an insurance agency. They had tried to make it as a real couple, but when Bob caught Barbara sneaking around with her abnormal psychology professor, he had finally had enough and dumped her flat. She begged and pleaded for a second chance with him too, but he said he had heard that story before. To twist the knife in even further, he told her he hoped that she was a good luck charm in that who ever dumped her sorry butt would soon meet the person he was meant to be with.

So, who does that bring us to now? Oh yeah. Marion Moseby was still the manager of the S.S. Tipton and was in an actual relationship with Emma Tutweiler. The fact that his mother disapproved of her only reinforced to him that she was worth hanging on to. He still kept in contact with his brothers, but he and Spencer weren't really that close and Dwight was busy living and playing in Los Angeles. Of course, he was miserable as his first game playing along side Kobe Bryant, Kobe suffered a career ending knee injury. Marion and Emma were still dating and living their lives aboard the S.S. Tipton. And thankfully, he was not allergic to cats.

That brings us to Woody and Addison. They were still Zack and Maya's roommates respectively. And they were still going strong as well. To the outside world, they were still the odd couple, but it worked for them. And when Addison told off Steve one summer, she could do no wrong in Woody's eyes. And when Woody rejected her little sister's advances on him, he could do no wrong in Addison's eyes.

Then there was Max. She was now in college again, but she didn't choose Yale as her destination. Instead, she chose to go to Princeton. And that decision caused her nothing but grief from both Cody and Bailey. But she was happy, and it turned out she wasn't alone. Turns out another old mystery had been solved as it seemed Tapeworm was a student there as well.

This brings us back to Cody and Bailey. Their lives at Yale were not always a fairy tale, but they loved their lives. Sure, they had the occasional argument or minor disagreement, but it was never anything serious and they had long since agreed to the rule of never going to bed angry. Usually, after they would just talk to the other, they could usually their disagreements rather easily. And of course, they loved making up with each other.

As for their academics, they continued taking every challenge Yale through at them and overcoming them. They kept racking up 4.0s left and right. During their sophomore years, they signed up to take the MCAT together in Boston during the week of Thanksgiving break of their junior years. And the summer in between their sophomore and junior years, since they couldn't be together, they both studied for their exam. And more often than not, they would do so while having an open webchat with the other to ask questions if they needed to.

When they got their scores back, both had knocked the test out of the park. They couldn't rest on their laurels though as they had to begin applying for medical school. After signing up for the application service, they got everything they needed for it and applied to numerous medical schools. Since they liked being out on their own, their first choice was to stay at Yale and continue their education there. But they applied to several safety schools (for them) such as the University of Kansas and Boston College.

All of their work paid off when early in their senior years both were not only accepted to the Yale Medical School, but received scholarship offers as well. With that taken care of, it was a huge load off of their minds. And since Yale Medical School had such an high academic reputation, neither of their families could complain about them wanting to stay in New Haven. Even with the next chapters of their lives already assured, neither one of them thought for a minute of putting things in to cruise control.

Of course, during this time, school was not the only academic pursuit they had. Over Thanksgiving break of their sophomore years, Zack told Cody of a research project going on at BC. It seemed some people in the psychology department were planning something called the Gemini Project where they wanted to study twins behavior over the course of two years. All they would have to do is every six months spend a weekend on BC's campus and allow them to perform tests and experiments on them. And the way it was set up was that it would be done in December and June. With his scientific mind now curious, Cody agreed to it realizing those were weekends when Bailey would be in Kettlecorn, and they wouldn't be missing time any together. Of course, Zack did mention they were going to be paying them $600 for each session for a grand total of $2,400. And to Cody, that was just fine. He actually had plans for that money.

This all brings us up to Thanksgiving break of Cody and Bailey's senior year of college. And like they had for the past three years, they packed up and headed back to Boston on that Sunday after classes had ended. And when they got back to the Boston Tipton, they had a surprise waiting on them. With Arwin having moved into the suite on the 24th floor, London had arranged for private suites for Cody & Bailey and Zack and Maya that week. Of course, Zack and Maya didn't get there until Thursday morning as they spent some time in New York. And naturally, they all thanked her profusely when they found out.

When they arrived at Carey's suite, Cody found his last payment had come in from the Gemini Project. He smiled to himself. The previous payments had been invested wisely, and this new payment would put him close to $3,000.

On Tuesday of that week, everyone was sitting around the suite on the 24th floor when Carey spoke up.

"So, are you two having trouble keeping yourselves motivated now that you've been accepted to medical school?"

Bailey smiled and shook her head. "Not really. We both still have perfect 4.0s going that we want to keep. Besides, we don't want to get into bad study habits that might get carried over next year."

Carey nodded. "Good idea. Will you all be able to stay in the same dorm next year?"

Cody shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Those are for undergraduates only. Sometime soon, we need to meet with someone in the housing department to discuss our options."

"Well, its almost noon. We should go ahead and hit the grocery store for Thursday. Make sure we get what we need before everything gets rummaged through."

Cody nodded. "Good idea." But at the same time, he pushed a button on his phone in his pocket sending a text message. And a few minutes later, his cell phone rang, and he answered it.

"Hello?" "Uh huh..." "Uh huh..." "I guess I can be right up, London. Be there in a few minutes." He hung up his phone and turned to Bailey and his Mom. "That was London. She wants me to come upstairs and fix her computer again." He smiled. "If we want to make sure we go on our spring break cruise again, I better head up there ASAP."

Bailey smiled back at him. "Good idea, Codykins. Want me to go with you?"

He shook his head. "Nah. You two head onto the grocery store, and I'll meet you there when I'm done. We might need the extra trunk space anyways."

"Okay..." Bailey leaned in and kissed him. "See you in a little while, Sweetie."

Bailey and Carey headed out of the suite down towards the parking garage while Cody headed up to the penthouse. He knocked on the door to London's suite, and she opened the door and just looked at him. Cody smiled back at her.

"Thank you again for agreeing to help me with this, London. You're the person who has the expertise with this..."

She just looked at him. "You're sure you want to do this?"

Cody grinned. "Never been more sure of anything in my whole life."

London shrugged. "Alright...let's go."

Fifteen minutes, they found themselves walking into a store. London turned to Cody once more. "Are you really sure about this? I mean...Daddy's been married almost twenty times now."

Cody just smiled. "London, I'm positive. I need your help in picking out an engagement ring for Bailey. I want to ask her to marry me."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Sorry this is so late getting posted. Just got home from a rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. So, as there is a wedding I have to go to tomorrow night, it will either be very late or Sunday morning when Ch. 72 is posted.**__  
><em>_


	72. All That Glitters is Not Gold

_Chapter 72_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

London just looked at Cody and could see the earnest expression on his face. She might not be the most observant person in the world, but she knew Cody well enough to know that this is what he really wanted. And for three years now, she had gotten to know Bailey. While she may be a horrible dresser and her stories about life on the farm were completely boring, London wasn't blind. She could tell that they both really did love each other and made each other happy. And as Cody was one of her true friends, London wanted him to be happy. So, she shrugged.

"Alright, you want to marry the Farm Girl, and I'm pretty sure she wants to marry you. Lets find you the perfect ring then. How much money do you have to spend?"

Cody kept smiling. "I have almost three thousand dollars!"

London began laughing. "That's it?"

"Hey, I think that's pretty good for a poor college student. Besides, just because something costs more doesn't necessarily mean its better..."

London just shook her head. "That's what poor people say to make themselves feel better...You sound just like my Khun Yai. She's always telling me that the best things in life are free."

Cody laughed. "Well, she's right..."

"Cody, this is the same woman who uses an elephant as a shower..."

"One, that's a very environmentally conscious way to save water. Two, I'm glad you've finally learned how to tell Zack and I apart..."

London rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Its too easy. You're the one who is always with or talking about Bailey, and Zack is the one who is always with or talking about Maya. I just wait to see which girl you start talking about or with before I know which is which."

Cody was about to say something, when a salesperson came over to them. "Welcome to Jared! How may I help you?"

Cody turned to her and smiled. "I want to look at your engagement rings."

The woman smiled back. "So, have yourself a special girl in your life?"

Cody nodded. "I sure do..."

"Well, come over here and I'll show you what we have..." She lead him over to a couple of display cases. "If you see one you want to take a closer look at, just let me know."

So, that's what Cody did. He began looking at their selection to see if there was anything he liked. But more importantly, he wanted to find the perfect ring that just screamed out to him that it was meant for Bailey. So, in his mind that meant it should be simple yet elegant and beautiful.

While he was looking, London motioned the salesperson over to her and leaned in and whispered to her.

"Look, my friend only has $3,000 to spend on a ring. If he finds one he likes, tell him it costs $3,000, and I'll cover any difference in price."

"And you are?"

London just looked at her. "I'm London Tipton!" She pulled out her platinum credit card. "Is this enough proof for you?"

The salesperson looked at her card and back up at her in surprise. "Of course, Miss Tipton. If there is anything else you see you like, you just let me know!"

London shrugged and began looking through their selection of earrings, and actually saw a pair she really liked. She asked to look at them, and got out her own personal jeweler's eye and examined them. "Not bad. Not bad at all. And very sparkly! I'll take them..."

Meanwhile, Cody was still looking when he saw one that just seemed to glow and stood out to him. He looked up at the salesperson, and she came down to show it to him. Looking at it up close, he thought it was absolutely perfect. It was a silver band with several diamonds, but it wasn't gaudy. It was exactly what he was looking for. The ring was simple in nature, but it was obvious that it was elegant and stunning none the less. In his mind, it indeed was screaming to him that it was meant for Bailey.

"How much is this one?"

The salesperson smiled. "Its $3,000."

Cody smiled. "I'll take it then. Its perfect."

"Excellent choice, sir. I knew this one wouldn't last long here very long."

He was about to say something when London grabbed it away from him. "Let me be the final judge of this..." She pulled out her jeweler's eye again and began examining it. "Okay, it has an acceptable number of karats. The color is almost perfect. The cut is actually very nice, and the clarity is immaculate. Cody, you actually have chosen pretty well. I think Bailey will love this."

Cody grinned. "That settles it. Do you do engraving?"

The salesperson nodded. "Of course. Its complimentary. Will this be cash, check or charge?"

Cody paused. "Well, if you don't mind me running to the bank across the street real quick, I can pay you in cash."

"Of course, sir. Oh, one more thing. Do you know your girlfriend's ring size so we can re-size it to make sure it fits properly?"

Cody just stood there, closed his eyes and hung his head. "Ring size...why didn't I remember to get that?" He sighed and thought to himself. "How do I get that information without making Bailey suspicious?"

"Just bring in one of her other rings, and we can size it."

He shook his head. "That won't work. The only rings she has, she constantly wears. If I asked to borrow one, she would definitely know something was up..." He paused to think when his eyes went wide. "I think I've got it! Her Grammy gave her one of her great grandmother's rings, and we had to take it to get it re-sized for her in New Haven. While we were there, they took all of Bailey's ring size measurements for her future knowledge. And I think we went to a Jared there. Do you have a national database you could check to see if its there somewhere?"

"Of course, Sir." The salesperon walked over to her computer. "What is you soon to be fiancee's name?"

"Bailey Pickett...B-A-I-L-E-Y P-I-C-K-E-T-T."

The salesperson entered the information, and looked up and smiled. "As a matter of a fact, we do have it right here. That was most fortunate."

Cody sighed and wiped his forehead in relief. "You're telling me. I'll go to the bank and be right back."

Thirty minutes later, the ring was paid for, and Cody could pick it up when he was home on Christmas Break. As Cody and London left the store, Cody turned to her and smiled.

"Thanks for your help, London."

She smiled. "You're welcome. Have any idea how or when you're going to propose yet?"

He paused again. "Nothing definite yet, but I have an idea I'm kicking around in my mind." He checked his watch. "Okay, I need to be heading to the grocery store to meet up with Bailey and Mom. Can I drop you off back at the hotel?"

London shook her head. "No thanks. Riding in your car once was enough for me. You don't even have heated leather seats in it. I've called for my limo and its coming to pick me up. Besides, I have the urge to go do more shopping now."

He grinned. "Well, thanks again, London. I really appreciate it. You're a true friend."

She shushed him. "Hey, keep it down. I have a reputation to maintain. Could you imagine if the paparazzi caught me out with you? I'd never live that down!"

Fifteen minutes later, Cody had made his way to the supermarket, and found Bailey and his Mom inside going through the aisles filling up a shopping cart. He smiled as he walked up behind them.

"I see you two are trying to keep me busy tomorrow preparing everything."

Both turned around to see him. And Bailey smiled at him. "There you are. How did everything go with London's computer?"

Cody kept smiling. "It should be all taken care of now. There was a problem with...band width, but I think we have that solved too. Hopefully, everything will work fine now."

"Good." She smiled again. "You're Mom and I decided since so many people will be joining us, we should have a wide variety of pies for dessert. I thought you and I could try making our blue ribbon winning pie again. Don't you think that sounds like a good idea?"

He nodded. "I do."

Carey smiled. "I can't wait to try it. And with Zack and Maya not getting back to Boston until Thursday morning, you won't have to worry about him trying to sneak a piece of it tomorrow night."

Cody laughed. "True. At least he's gotten better. It won't be like that one time we found him down in the hotel kitchen with his head stuck in a big bucket of ice cream..."

Carey sighed. "Ahhh yes...I do remember that now."

Bailey just looked at them both. "Something tells me there's a story here."

Cody wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "You see, years ago, Mom and I were trying to help Zack and Chef Paulo watch what they ate..."

Another forty-five minutes later, they were pushing a cart full of groceries out to their cars. Carey had some more errands to run, so Cody and Bailey said they would get the groceries back to the suite and everything into the refrigerator and freezer. And once they did that, they just sat back on the couch and relaxed. Bailey turned to Cody.

"Doesn't it just seem like time has flown by? It doesn't seem all that long ago that I came to Boston for my Thanksgiving here."

He smiled. "I know. And in a matter of months, we'll be college graduates. I guess the old saying is true...time flies when you're having fun."

She laughed. "Tell me about it. In about a month, we'll be celebrating our third anniversary."

"I can't believe you've put up with me for almost three years..."

She leaned up and kissed him. "Because I love you."

"I love you too. More than you could ever imagine."

Bailey grinned. "Oh, if its anywhere near as much as I love you, I have a pretty good idea."

Cody grinned back. "You say that now. Wait until next year when I come home reeking of formaldehyde..."

She laughed again. "I don't think I'll mind because I will too. Besides, it just means we may have to take more and more baths together to get ourselves clean..."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "I like the sound of that..."

"I like the sound of keeping my favorite study partner into medical school. Everyone else will be around complete strangers while will have each other. We'll have to see what we can do about getting identical schedules again. I haven't had a class since the first semester of our freshman years that you weren't in too, and I don't want to start now."

"Me either. I hear they break you off into groups by alphabetical order. Martin and Pickett might be close enough together to be grouped together..."

She nodded. "I hope..." She teased him. "Would be easier if our names both started with the same letter though..."

Cody gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah...it would." Deciding to try to change the subject, he paused and grinned. "Of course, I hope you know you only have four more years for your Royals to come through for you..."

She sighed. "I know...I thought for sure they would have turned it around by now."

"Well, it doesn't help that whenever one of their players gets good, they trade them away for prospects..."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me. I can't believe they traded our best pitcher to Red Sox for two mid level prospects, cash and a bag of baseballs..."

He just grinned. "Well, he looks good in a Red Sox uniform...and so will you."

The next day was Wednesday, and it had become a new tradition that it would be the day that all the food was prepared for the meal. And like usual, Cody prepped the bird to cook while Bailey made the mashed potatoes and dressing. And once everything else had been made, they went about trying to recreate their pie which had become known as a Cailey Pie. And on Thursday, even more new traditions were maintained. Having everyone go around the table saying what they were thankful for was now a part of the Martin family Thanksgiving. Of course, so was everyone falling asleep on the couch later because they had eaten way too much.

That night, Cody and Bailey were laying in bed together and just talking before they went to sleep.

"Codykins, its going to be 2015 in about a month. What do you think that year will bring for us?"

He pulled her in closer. "I don't know, Bails...but I'm hoping it will be our best year yet."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Sorry for the delay in posting this. I was in an outdoor wedding yesterday afternoon in a black suit. Black suit + outside in the hottest part of a July day = complete and total drain of energy. And then there was an open bar at the reception. Add all of those together, and it was a long day. When I got home at 3 AM, I had enough energy to get out of the suit and fall into bed. Oh well, the good news is I've decided that CH. 75 won't be the final chapter after all. I'm going to extend it by a few chapters, maybe to 80.**__  
><em>_


	73. Back to School Part Cuatro

_Chapter 73_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Once Thanksgiving break was over, Cody and Bailey headed back to New Haven to finish up their fall semester. And due to all of their AP credits and them taking at least 15 credit hours every semester before then, their senior years were fairly laid back. Both entered the year only needing 24 credits to graduate with their double majors in chemistry and biology. And a total of twelve hours over those two semesters would be taken up by their senior projects in both majors. So, that left them with only two normal classes they had to take and prepare for exams. And this was Cody and Bailey we're talking. Both had finished up their rough drafts of their senior projects well before Thanksgiving, and had their edits and re-edits and final drafts done before reading week.

And having a whole week to prepare for only two exams was like giving them a gallon jug to hold a pint of water. While other students had to spread their focus around to other classes, they spent the whole of reading week on their two classes. And one of them was a notorious 'GUT' class, one that most students considered as close to an easy 'A' as there was at Yale. After reading week, both were finished with their last exam by Tuesday of finals week. So, they were looking forward to having a few days to sit back, unwind and maybe finish their Christmas shopping.

As they got back to their room, both sunk back on to the bed. Cody turned to Bailey.

"Seven semesters down, one to go..."

She smiled at him. "I know. And scheduling for next semester should be fun too. We can basically do whatever we want with our other two classes."

Cody sighed in contentment and closed his eyes. "I'll worry about that in January."

She laughed. "I guess we've earned some down time though. But, there is something we might want to think about doing while we're still here though."

He opened his eyes back up and looked at her. "Yeah? What's that?"

"We can look at graduate housing here on campus and see what's available and what we like. The sooner we get our names in for what we want, the better off we'll be. No need for us to wait until later when other people will get their acceptance letters and will be in competition with us."

Cody nodded. "That's probably a good idea." He reached over and grabbed his laptop off his desk. "Lets see what we can find..."

For the next hour, they visited the Yale Housing website, and looked at everything that was available to them. Some places had pictures, and others had actual floor plans. Some of the pictures scared them off because the buildings looked old and decrepit. The others without pictures, they realized they were going to have to go look at in person. Finally, they found a couple they thought looked like they might fit their needs and not require tetanus shots, but one in particular stood out to Bailey.

"I think we should start with the York-Crown building. Since there are two of us, we can request a two bedroom apartment."

Cody studied it and nodded. "I would tend to agree. We can use one of them as a bedroom and the other as a sort of home office."

Bailey smiled. "Exactly. Plus, its only about a third of a mile from the medical school. That will actually be a shorter walk than what we do now."

Cody clicked to FAQs about the place and studied it. "Well, all of our utilities would be included, there is on on-site laundromat, and storage available to us in the basement..." He paused. "But no on-site parking..."

Bailey pointed out something to him on the screen. "Yeah, but there is a gated parking garage right across the street. That will be even better than parking on the street."

He smiled. "You really like the looks of this place, don't you?"

She smiled back. "I really do."

Cody leaned in and kissed her. "Alright...grab your coat, and we'll head over to the housing office and see what we can find out."

She grinned. "Really?"

He grinned back. "Really. You know by now that I can't say no to you."

She grabbed his arm to pull him up. "Come on! Lets go!"

After grabbing their coats, they made their way across campus to the graduate housing office. And looking around campus, they were more thankful than ever that they were done with finals. Seeing all the sleep deprived and overstressed students who weren't done yet with finals made them feel like they were walking among the living dead. But they tried their best to ignore them as they entered the building they were looking for. Fortunately, with everyone still studying for finals, the office was completely empty. So, they were able to talk to someone immediately.

And the lady they talked to was more than helpful. After verifying they were both on scholarship and had scholarships for medical school, she was more than willing to do what she could. And when they said they wanted to be roommates and had a first preference for the York-Crown apartments, she immediately began typing away on her computer.

"Well, it does look like we do have one open for next year. I can go ahead and put your names down for it. And since we do have one empty now and its kind of dead around here, I can take you both over there to take a look at it first hand if you want."

Bailey got excited and grinned. "Oh my gosh! Really?"

Cody just shook his head and smiled. "I think that means we'd like to take you up on your offer."

Fifteen minutes, they were in the vacant apartment looking around at it. First thing they noticed was that it wasn't furnished. But the lady from the housing office reminded them that unlike off-campus housing, it had two things going for it that they didn't. The first was that their rent would be covered by their scholarships. The second was more important – location, location, location. Plus, their rent would include all of their utilities including wireless internet. Even more, they would be able to get a parking permit for the garage across the street. Not wanting to be too pushy though, she gave Bailey and Cody a chance to walk around the place and take everything in.

And once they had, Bailey turned to Cody and smiled. "Codykins, I think this place will be perfect for us. It has everything we'll need next year."

Cody nodded. "True, but if we decide on this, we'll have to hit up some secondhand furniture stores to find everything we'll need. All we have now is a TV. That's going to take a major hit to our current finances. Its not like we have several thousand dollars to spend right now."

"I know, but think about it. We'll be able to come home from class to our own place. We'll officially be able to be roommates in the eyes of the university..."

Cody looked around the place one more time. "Are you sure this is what you really want? Sure you don't want to look around at some more places?"

Bailey grinned. "I'm positive."

"Well..." He sighed. "I guess we have a place to live next year now." He smiled at her.

Bailey immediately through her arms around him and hugged him tight. "Thank you, Sweetie!"

"I just want you to be happy. This will make you happy, and I have the power to make it happen for you. So, its a no brainer."

She smiled at him. "Just you watch and see. It'll be great!"

"As long as you'll be here with me, it will be." He looked around. "I guess this will be our first place as a..." He paused and stopped himself from saying 'an engaged couple'."

Bailey looked at him. "Our first place as a what?"

Cody swallowed and racked his brain for a way out of this. "Oh...ummm...I was going to say it will be our first place as a...completely self-sufficient couple. I mean, we'll actually have our own kitchen now. We'll be able to cook for ourselves and now rely on whatever the dining hall passes off as food..."

She laughed. "I know, right?" She grinned. "But don't be thinking I'll expect you to do all of the cooking. I want to pull my own weight around here. Of course, I may have to take up jogging after eating your cooking so often..."

He smiled at her. "Then I'd join you in it. Its like you told me. I love you just the way you are, and nothing is ever going to change that..."

"I know." She teased him. "Just as long as you didn't wear your tights..."

Cody just looked at her. "For the hundredth time, they're compression pants!"

Bailey laughed. "I know, but its fun to see you get worked up over it. Come on. Lets go find Mrs. Harris and ask where we sign."

And that's what they did. An hour later, they were back in their dorm room having secured their housing for medical school. Of course, their lease began on August 1st of the next year, so they would be moving in earlier than they were used to. Once back in their room, they both fell back on their bed and just relaxed.

Cody looked at her. "Is it too late to tell people to get us things for the new place for Christmas?"

Bailey laughed. "I think so." She paused. "Have you gotten me anything yet?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I've bought you a little something as a combination Christmas/anniversary gift. But I was planning on finishing my shopping for you in the next couple of days."

"I was going to do the same thing. I say we scrap whatever we were going to do and buy ourselves somethings we're going to need next year."

"Probably a good idea. But I have to warn you. What I've already bought you, I can't take back..."

She grinned. "Why? Did you get it engraved again?"

He leaned in and kissed her. "You're just going to have to wait and see what it is..."

She kissed him back. "I can do that. I always love your surprises."

Cody mumbled under his breath. "I hope you love this one..."

"What did you say?"

Cody looked up at her. "Oh...I was just thinking to myself. I know how any graduation gifts of money we get are going to be used now."

She smiled. "Very true." She sighed in contentment. "Can we just lay here like this for a while. I know we have to do laundry and pack at some point, but can we save that for tomorrow?"

He leaned in and kissed her again. "I think we can do that..."

The next day, they did indeed do their laundry and went out to finish their Christmas shopping. And while they were out, they began a list of things they were going to need for their new apartment the next year. But, that was still over eight months away, so they had time. Back at the dorm, they packed up what they would need for winter break so they could head back to Boston the next day. Bailey was going to spend a few days in Boston before flying home on the following Tuesday. And that was because it was a lot cheaper to fly on a Tuesday.

Once they returned to Boston, they parked the car in the parking garage, and hauled their bags up to the lobby. And that's where they ran into London.

"London!"

London turned around, and saw Bailey and Cody standing there. "Yes?"

Bailey smiled. "We have the most amazing news!"

Realization dawned on London. "Oh my gosh! Congratulations! I know Cody was..." But she stopped when she noticed Cody was standing behind Bailey shaking his head vigorously. And he mouthed to her 'Not yet'.

"...was...ummm...I forget."

Bailey just shook her head thinking it was London being London and kept smiling. "We found our place to live next year. Its a two bedroom apartment not far from the medical school. We know its not furnished, but we're going to start looking through secondhand stores..."

London gasped and turned to Cody. "Cody! I've known you for ten years now! Haven't I taught you anything?"

Cody frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You're really going to buy furniture that other people have already used? That's so...so...ewwww!"

He laughed. "Well, its what we can afford. And I'm not even sure we can afford that right now. We're going to have to save up our money."

London shook her head again. "Uh uh...Friends don't let friends buy cheap, shoddy, USED furniture. You might as well get that stuff from Sweden that Moseby used to always complain about. Nope, I refuse to allow that!"

Cody and Bailey looked at each other in confusion before looking back at London. "Well, we appreciate that London, but like Cody said, we don't have a choice..."

"Oh yes you do! Tomorrow, we're all going shopping together. And Cody, I know you have to have missed carrying all of my bags, so you'll get to do that again."

"But..."

London glared at them. "No buts!"

Both Cody and Bailey took a step back and held up their hands. "Okay, okay..."

London smiled. "Good." And with that, she just turned and walked away.

Bailey turned to Cody. "Okay, that was interesting..."

He laughed. "That was London..."

"I'm never going to understand her, am I?"

He shook his head. "Probably not. But under that 14 karat exterior is a heart of gold. Even if she was always constant insulting me..."

Bailey laughed. "Well, she's targeted me a few times that I've been around her. But, thanks to her, we've got to do a lot of things we wouldn't have normally. So, I'm truly grateful for that."

"I know. Me too. Well, you ready to head up to the 24th floor?"

She smiled. "Yeah, time to tell everyone our big news. I think our families will be thrilled."

Cody nodded and thought to himself. "I just hope there just as thrilled when I drop the other bomb I have on them all later..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Actually posting a chapter on time for a change. Anyways, I have finished my follow up to Graduation. I haven't had time to edit it or polish it yet, and its fairly long. The rough draft is about 12,000 words. For a comparison, this chapter is 2,686 before this AN. So, I'm debating whether to post it all as one story or break it up into 3-4 chapters. Any preferences?**__  
><em>_


	74. Counting Cody's Blessings

_Chapter 74_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Carey wanted to hear all about the new apartment they were going to be living in during medical school, and Cody and Bailey showed her some pictures they had taken of it on their cell phones. She agreed that it looked like it would serve its purpose and that being so close to the medical school was really ideal. While she was at it, she mentioned she had yet to see where it was in New Haven they lived now, and she would be sure to check it out while there for graduation. However, she told them she wouldn't be able to help out with any old furniture as all of her furniture actually belonged to the hotel, and Mr. Tipton might get upset if she gave any of it away. They just smiled and told her about what London said, and they even asked her if she wanted to help them look.

So, the next day was a day full of shopping. And Cody once again served as a pack mule. But, by the end of the day, they had settled on numerous things that they wanted that London didn't flat our reject. She said if she was buying, she got a say in things, and they didn't feel like they were in a position to argue. So, while they were going to have nicer things that they would have picked out themselves, they didn't have anything that was not them. And that night, Cody and Bailey laid in bed and talked.

"You know, come August, we won't have to sleep in a twin bed any more..."

Bailey smiled. "Well, it won't be the first time we've slept in a queen sized bed. Just the first time we will for more than ten days at a time. And even then, we still didn't use all of the room we could have."

"I know. But I've spent almost three years sleeping with you in my arms. You're like my own personal life sized Teddy bear..." He grinned. "...with other perks."

She playfully slapped his arm and laughed. "Cody!"

"Yes, Dear?"

"Behave yourself..."

He grinned again. "I haven't been able to do that for almost three years either..."

However, by the next night, they really did have to behave themselves. Zack and Maya finished their exams at BC, and Maya was going to stay in Boston a few days too. And to everyone's surprise, on late Monday afternoon, there was another surprise visitor as well. They were all sitting around the suite watching TV while a snowstorm was raging outside when there was a knock at the door. Cody got up to answer it, and he was surprised by what he saw.

"Suprise! Merry Christmas!"

Standing in the doorway was none other than Kurt Martin wearing a Santa Claus hat.

"Dad! What are you doing here? You didn't tell us you were coming..."

Kurt grinned. "I have some time off, so I figured I'd come spend Christmas with my boys. I've already got my own room a couple of floors down."

Cody shook his head in surprise and smiled. "That's great. Come on in." He turned to everyone else. "Look who's here!"

Kurt hugged his his sons and their girlfriends and when he found out Bailey and Maya were both leaving the next day, he informed them that he was going to take them all out to dinner. And to the kids, a free meal that they didn't have to cook themselves sounded pretty good. And after dinner, he got them into one of the most exclusive clubs in Boston to do some dancing to celebrate the end of exams. But even though they were both now 21, Cody and Bailey limited themselves to a champagne toast. While it may have been several years before, both still had a strong aversion to alcohol from their one night on the cruise ship. Unfortunately though, Cody and Bailey had to call it a night earlier than the others as Bailey had an early flight out the next morning. She said goodbye to Kurt, Zack and Maya, and she had Cody headed back to the hotel.

The next morning, Cody drove her to Logan International and waited with her through checking her bags and walked with her to the edge of security. Bailey but her backpack over her shoulders and turned to him.

"You're coming to Kettlecorn on the 28th, right?"

Cody smiled. "Trust me, I'll be there. I wouldn't miss our anniversary and New Year's Eve for anything in the world."

Bailey smiled back. "Me either. I know its only going to be a week apart, but I want you to come home with me now."

"So do I, but with Dad here, I feel like I should spend some time with him."

"You're right. I know you don't see him as often as you like, so this is your chance. I guess I can't be selfish and want you all to myself. You should spend it with your family."

He smiled again. "Bails, you are my family too. Maybe not legally yet, but in my heart, you are."

She smiled back again. "I know. And I feel the same way about you. Okay, I think I can handle a week as long as its not any longer. Besides, when I see you again, I'll have you again at least all the way through graduation."

"Yeah you will..." He leaned in and kissed her. "Have a safe trip and let me know when you get there. And wish everyone a Merry Christmas for me."

"I will. Love you, Codykins."

"Love you too, Bails."

And with that, Bailey was off back to Kettlecorn, and Cody headed back to the hotel. Well, not directly as he had a stop to make and something to pick up. And when he did, he still thought the ring he had picked out was perfect. And now, he had a plan of how he was going to propose. But before he could do that, he had a couple of things to do first. And the first item on his list was to tell his family what his plan was.

He decided to wait until Christmas morning to break the news. He wanted to make sure to do it when Maya wouldn't be there. Not that he didn't want her to know, but he didn't want to do it in front of her and place any unintended pressure on Zack. So, on Christmas morning, the five of Arwin, Carey, Kurt, Zack and Cody were all sitting around the suite enjoying Christmas breakfast after opening their presents. And Cody decided now was the time to do it.

He clinked his fork against his glass to get everyone's attention. "I have something to tell everyone."

Carey turned to him. "What is it Cody?"

He stood up. "I've recently made a decision with my life I thought you should know about."

Zack rolled his eyes. "We know, you're going to medical school and going to share an apartment with Bailey."

Cody shook his head. "That's not it." He paused. "Well, all that's true, but its not what I was going to say. I want to share something much bigger than an apartment with Bailey..." He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened it. "I've decided to ask her to marry me so I can share the rest of my life with her..."

Immediately, everyone's eyes focused on the ring and they were speechless. Well, except for Zack.

"Holy Crap! How in the world did you afford a rock like that?"

Cody smiled. "I saved and invested all the money I got from the Gemini Project. I bought this over Thanksgiving break. I wasn't helping London fix her computer. She was helping me shop for this..."

Zack shook his head. "Thanks, Bro...No pressure on me now. Once Maya sees you doing this, I'm a dead man!"

Kurt finally spoke up. "Cody...Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

Cody nodded. "Positive, Dad."

His Dad smiled. "Then congratulations. I already know she makes you happy, so go for it. Next time I see Bailey, I'll have to welcome her to the family."

Carey nodded too. "I agree. Bailey is already a part of the family, and you two are so good together." She paused and then began crying loudly. "My baby boy is getting married!" She buried her face in her arms on the table and continued crying. Everyone just looked at her in surprise.

Zack whispered to his brother. "Just imagine what would have happened if we told her she was going to be a grandmother..."

Cody just nodded silently. Kurt turned back to him.

"So, when are you going to pop the question?"

"New Year's Eve. But before I do that, I need to ask for her Mom and Dad's blessing. I know it would mean a lot to her if I did."

Zack laughed. "That sounds so old fashioned."

Cody shrugged. "All of her sisters' husbands did it. Its just the way things are done in Kettlecorn, and I'm not going to be one to break a long standing tradition."

Just then, Carey's head came back up and she wailed. "I'm going to have a daughter-in-law!" She returned to crying as Arwin just rubbed her back. "Don't worry, Cody. You're Mom's really happy about this. I can tell."

To soothe her down, Cody promised he would call her after he proposed and tell her all about it. And finally, Carey's tears did abide. Of course, she responded by engulfing Cody in a tight hug that almost suffocated him and broke his ribs.

On the 28th, he was packed for his week in Kettlecorn. But he always kept the ring on his person as he didn't want to chance losing it. And at two o'clock that afternoon, he boarded the Tipton jet and made his way to Kettlecorn. When he landed, there was Bailey waiting on him with a smile on her face. And when he got off the plane, she was there to hug and kiss him.

"I missed you so much! How was Christmas with your family?"

Cody paused. "Well, it was interesting..."

"Why's that?"

"Ummm...well, you know...Dad was there. He always makes things interesting."

She nodded. "Yeah, but he's a good guy. I do have some bad news though."

"What?"

"Doc Johnson called me a little while ago. His new shipment of flu shots came in this afternoon, and he's anticipating a mad rush tomorrow morning to get them. Its been hitting the whole town pretty hard, so I'm glad we each got one at school. Anyways, he's asked me to help administer them. After everything he's done for me, I agreed to help."

Cody smiled. "I completely understand." And to himself, he realized while Bailey was working, it would be the perfect time to sit down with Clyde and Eunice. "I'll just find something to keep me busy on the farm."

She smiled back at him. "Famous last words. I'm sure my Dad will find something for you to do or some kind of new contraption to build."

That night, there was a big family dinner welcoming Cody back to Kettlecorn. But since there was still work to do the next morning and Foghorn was going to crow at dawn no matter what, everyone went to bed early. And Cody and Bailey were both more than happy to have each other to sleep next to again after a week.

That morning, Cody helped out with making breakfast before Bailey had to head to work. But since it was so cold and snowy outside, Clyde told her to take the family truck. Of course, he also gave her a list and some money to pick up a few things on the way home. She just smiled and agreed. Once Cody walked her out to the truck and she gave Cody a kiss goodbye, she was off. Cody actually made sure to watch her drive off before he headed back inside the house with his nervousness growing. Clyde and Grammy were still drinking their coffee while Eunice was doing some dishes. She saw him come back in and smiled.

"So, Cody...what are your plans for this morning."

He paused to calm his nerves and spoke up. "Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you all about something."

Clyde looked up. "Yeah? What's that?"

Cody took his seat, and Eunice joined them all at the table too. Cody took a deep breath and began.

"I hope you all know how much your daughter means to me. I love Bailey more than life itself."

Eunice smiled again. "We know."

Cody nodded. "Well, with us graduation college in May and beginning medical school next fall, we're beginning new chapters in our lives. When we begin that next chapter, I don't want Bailey to just be my girlfriend." He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened it. "I want her to be my fiancee or my wife..."

That got everyone's attention as they all stared at the ring much like Cody's family had done a few days earlier.

"I want to ask Bailey to marry me. But before I do that, I wanted to ask all of you for your blessings to do so. I can promise you. I will love, honor and cherish her for the rest of my life."

Grammy Pickett picked up the ring box and whistled. "This thing is a beauty. I think I need to get my blue blockers to cut out the glare." She smiled at Cody. "Its about time, Cody. I was wondering what was taking you so long."

He smiled back. "Well, I've known for a long time I was going to do this, but it wasn't until recently that I actually had the money to get Bailey a ring worthy of her..."

"Well, you most definitely have my blessing. Welcome to the family."

Eunice took the ring and looked at it. "My, my. This ring sure is beautiful. I'm sure Bailey's going to love it." She looked up at Cody and smiled. "It'll be nice to have another good cook in the family."

Cody smiled. "Well, I'm proud to say I've had two wonderful cooks in my life I've learned a lot from."

"More than that, you make my Bailey happier than I've ever seen her before. These past three years, its been darn near impossible to wipe a smile off of her face, and I know you're the reason for that. Heck, as far as I'm concerned, you're already part of the family. You most definitely have my blessing as well."

With two out three done, everyone turned to Clyde who had yet to say a word. And he noticed everyone was looking at him.

"What?"

Eunice rolled her eyes. "Clyde!"

He sighed. "Oh, alright..." He turned to Cody. "Do I have your word that you'll love, honor, cherish, be true to my daughter and do whatever it takes to make her happy?"

Cody nodded. "Of course."

Clyde shrugged. "Okay. You have my blessing."

Everyone just looked at him in confusion and surprise.

"Oh, come on! I'm fond of the boy. He's a good man, and after seeing him and Bailey together for three years, I know I can believe him when he gives me his word." He began laughing. "Besides, Bailey would bury me out in the storm shelter if I didn't give my blessing."

Cody sighed in relief. "Thank you all so much..."

Eunice smiled. "So, when are you going to pop the question."

Cody smiled too. "New Year's Eve. I figured the anniversary of our first official date was appropriate."

"Yeah, it is. Any idea how you're going to do it yet?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. Here's what I have in mind..."

_To be Continued..._


	75. Tonight's the Night

_Chapter 75_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

By the time Bailey got home early that afternoon, Cody had already broken down his plan down to Clyde, Eunice and Grammy. Both Eunice and Grammy thought is sounded very romantic. Clyde didn't really say anything because he knew better. He actually thought it was a pretty good idea, but having been a guy about to propose himself before, he knew things didn't always work out the way you wanted them too. And while he knew his daughter was going to say yes, he knew that as it got closer and closer to go time, Cody would get more and more nervous and less and less sure of Bailey's answer. It was only natural.

So, when she got home, she found her mother in the kitchen tidying up a bit after lunch.

"There you are honey. I've got a plate lunch for you in the microwave. Just heat it up, and it should still be good."

Bailey nodded and looked around. "Where is everyone else?"

Eunice never looked up. She was afraid if she did, the big smile on her face would give Cody's secret away. "Oh...your sisters are up cleaning their rooms, your Grammy is taking a nap and your Dad and Cody are out in the barn working on something. Cody said something about his friend Arwin showing him a machine that could be added to the butter churn to make it an automatic one."

Bailey just laughed. "I should have seen something like that coming..."

With the weather picking up that afternoon though, everyone pitched in and made sure all of the animals were all inside, warm and fed. And with that done, there wasn't much else they could do outside, so everyone stayed inside to keep warm. Of course, once inside, Eunice put everyone to work doing something. Soon enough though, it was time for dinner, and Eunice asked Cody to go wake up Grammy up for it. Cody knocked on her door, and came inside when here heard a 'Come in'. And there was Grammy standing by her dresser looking for something.

"Cody, close the door behind you. I want to show you something."

He did what he was told, and walked over next to Grammy. She turned to him, smiled and showed him something.

"These are the cufflinks my husband Andrew wore on our wedding day. And since then, everybody in the family has worn them. Clyde wore them. My other sons wore them. All but one of my sons-in-law wore them. And all of my grandsons and grandsons-in-law have worn them. Did you know that this family has only had one divorce ever?"

Cody paused. "The one who didn't wear them?"

She grinned. "I knew you were smart. My point is that I'd be honored if you would wear them too."

He smiled back. "Grammy, it would be my honor to wear them. But nothing is set in stone yet. Bailey hasn't said yes yet..."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, pish posh! I know that granddaughter of mine. If she isn't left speechless, she'll say yes before you finish asking her."

"I sure hope so..."

Grammy just shook her head and laughed. "You sound like every other man in this world. You're just letting your nerves get the best of you. Don't worry about it."

He nodded and sighed. "I'll try not to, but this will be the most important thing I've ever done in my life..."

She grinned again. "For now. And then it will be the actual wedding and then it will be you two having young uns of your own. This is just the beginning..."

Cody swallowed and was about to say something when there was another knock at the door. Bailey walked in and just looked at them and smiled.

"Here you two are. Dinner's ready, and you two are the only ones holding us up. What are you two doing?"

Grammy Pickett just smiled back. "I was just telling Cody here a story about your grandfather. I'm going to show him some old family photo albums later to show him pictures of him. I think there may even be some ones of you as a young un. In fact, I know there are some pictures in there of you in the bath tub..."

Bailey's eyes went wide. "Grammy!"

She laughed. "Oh please. From what I've read, it wouldn't be the first time's he's seen you like that..."

Cody was doing his best to keep from laughing. "You know, Bails. Fair is fair. You have seen every picture ever taken of me as a kid..."

Bailey sighed. "I should have known that would come back and bite me in the butt..."

And after dinner, that's what they did. And this time, it was Bailey who was getting a little embarrassed having all of her childhood pictures being shown off. But Cody just patted her knee and told her that it just proved how beautiful she had always been. Of course, he did tell her he just loved the pictures of her in pigtails.

The next day was the 30th, and with it being only one day until 'the day', Cody found himself split. Half of him was excited and anxious for New Year's Eve to finally get there so he could propose. However, the other half of him was absolutely petrified. It wasn't that he wasn't sure about proposing. It was that he was beginning to have irrational doubts that Bailey would say no. And when he let himself sink into that hole, he would almost begin to freak out. If she did say no, what would happen to them afterwards? Would they still go to medical school together? Would she still want to live together with him? And he began to doubt whether he was proposing too soon.

And despite his best attempts to hide all of his fears, Bailey picked up on it. They would be sitting on the couch watching TV, and she would look up at him. And she could tell his mind was a million miles away. Growing concerned, she wanted to ask him about it. But she also knew by then that Cody would talk to her if something was wrong. So, she kept her mouth shut figuring Cody would talk to her when the time was right.

Finally, the 31st arrived. Since they already had plans for that evening, they decided to have their own private anniversary picnic lunch together down in the storm shelter. And thankfully to Bailey, Cody seemed to be in a better mood at first.

She smiled at him. "Can you believe it's been three years already?"

Cody smiled back at her. "It does just seem like yesterday that our Moms locked us down here and practically forced us to admit how we felt about each other..."

"I know. A lot has changed since then, but some things are still very much the same."

"Yeah? Like what?"

She smiled at him again. "Well, you're still my best friend. But everyday, I've grown to love you more and more. Now, I don't know what I'd ever do with out you..."

Cody paused and shook his head as his worries returned. "Me either."

Bailey noticed his pause. "Codykins, I hope things never change between us."

"Never?" His nervousness grew again.

She shook her head. "No, never. I love what we have together. I wouldn't change a thing about it..."

Cody swallowed again, asking himself if he was doing the right thing. "Me either, Bails...me either."

But Bailey could really tell something was bothering him now. But as it was their anniversary, she didn't want to do anything to ruin it. Later that evening, Bailey was getting ready for the Hornswaggle's barn dance, and was checking herself out in the mirror. And as she was, she sighed. She couldn't stop thinking about Cody's behavior and was more convinced than ever that something was wrong with him. And for the first time ever, he wouldn't tell her what it was. But before she could think anything more about it, she was interrupted.

"You look so beautiful, Honey."

Bailey turned around and saw her mother standing in the doorway. "Thanks, Mom"

Eunice frowned. "What's wrong, Bailey?"

She sighed. "I think something is wrong with Cody. He's been acting weird the past couple of days. Its like there is something on his mind that he won't tell me. And I've caught him staring into space, and I know his mind was a million miles away. Normally, he would tell me if something was bothering him. We agreed we would do that so that we're always communicating with each other. But whatever it is, he's keeping it to himself..."

Eunice smiled to herself and tried to keep from laughing. If only her daughter knew was was on her beau's mind. "Bailey, I'm sure its nothing."

"How can you be so sure, Momma?"

"Because I've seen your Daddy do the same thing. Its just the way men are, Honey. You know how they tend to over analyze things. And we both know Cody. I'm sure he's just trying to get his mind around whatever it is before he talks to you. You know how he is. He just wants to be able to fully explain to you what's on his mind if there's anything at all."

Bailey looked at her hopefully. "You really think so?"

Eunice smiled again. "I'm positive. Trust me."

Downstairs, Cody was pacing back and forth. His stomach was in knots, and he was sweating more than he realized. And as he did, Clyde just watched him and began laughing.

"You got the ring on you?"

Cody patted his pocket. "Yeah, right here."

Clyde just shook his head. "Cody, you look as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs..."

Cody stopped and looked at him. "I know, but its almost show time. I'm scared to death."

Clyde grinned. "Well, if it will make you feel better, you're experiencing what every married man has experienced before. The day I proposed to Eunice, I had to change shirts six times because I kept sweating through them."

"I know what you mean. I think I doused myself head to toe in baby powder to keep me from doing the same thing."

Clyde looked at him funny. "Baby powder?"

"Oh yeah. It really works. Its keeps you dry and prevents chaffing. Its a Godsend during brutal New England summers..."

"Really...Huh..." Clyde shook his head again. "Anyways, it'll be over with soon enough. Just relax and enjoy your last few hours as a single man."

"What do you mean?"

He laughed. "Once you slide that ring on her finger, you're life will never be the same. From then on out, your opinion will be asked but never followed. There will be a whole new set of rules you'll have to live by that she hasn't told you yet. Oh, and the wedding? What you want won't matter at all..."

"I want Bailey to have the wedding of her dreams..."

"That's good...real good. You're already thinking the right way. It might not take you long to get used to it after all..."

Soon enough though, the ladies came downstairs. And like was tradition, all of them had a rose waiting on them. Bailey's sister's had already been picked up by their dates, so the only one staying home was Grammy. But before they left, she hugged Cody and wished him luck. He thanked her and said he was going to need it.

The barn dance was underway when they arrived, and they joined everyone else on the dance floor. Throughout the evening, Cody and Bailey danced and took time to talk to old friends and people from Kettlecorn she knew. But as it approached eleven thirty, Bailey was getting more worried. Her hands were slipping off of Cody's neck because it was so slippery with sweat. And she could feel the waist of her dress getting wet from Cody's hands on it. Finally, she just stopped them.

"Cody, what is going on? I know something is on your mind, and I can tell its really bothering you. You're sweating more than...well, I right now I don't know what. Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Cody sighed and checked his watch. It was time. He nodded. "You're right, Bails. There is something on my mind and I can't think of much of anything except it..."

Bailey was getting a little frightened. "Codykins, this is me. You can talk to me about anything."

He swallowed and nodded. "Well, do you remember our first New Year's here?"

She nodded. "Of course I do..."

"You know the old saying that you're supposed to kiss at midnight on New Year's Eve the person you want to spend the next year of your life with?"

"Of course. That's why I make sure I always kiss you every year at midnight."

Cody scrounged up all of his courage and just let it all out. "Well, what are you supposed to do to the person who you want spend every year for the rest of your life with?"

Bailey just looked at him confused. "Cody, what are you talking about? What does that have to do with what is bothering you?"

He continued on. "I could only think of one thing, so here goes..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring box. And as he opened it, he knelt down on one knee. But Bailey didn't notice him doing that. Her eyes were focused solely on the ring as it dawned on her what he was doing.

"Oh my gosh..."

Cody smiled up at her. "Bailey Pickett...I love you more than anything in this world, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and agree to be my wife? Will you marry me?"

Bailey just stood there in complete shock. She hadn't seen this coming at all...but she knew she should have. But when she heard Cody ask her to marry him, she snapped out of her dazed shock, and her mind began working again. And it suddenly became clear to her why he had been acting funny the past couple of days. And when the realization that he was on one knee asking her to marry him, her emotions took over. Tears of joy and happiness started forming in her eyes.

Since she hadn't said anything yet, Cody was getting really worried. "Bails?"

But the biggest smile formed on her face so that she was beaming. Through her tears, she practically shouted. "Of course I will!"

She pulled Cody up into a huge hug as she kept crying. And as she held on to him for dear life, her emotions continued to pour out. "Of course I'll marry you! I love you more than anything in the whole world!" She pulled back and kissed him as passionately as she could. And with relief that she said yes, Cody returned it as passionately as he could.

When they finally pulled back, they just smiled at each other until they heard a large round of applause. They looked around and saw everyone smiling and clapping for them. A couple of older ladies yelled out for Cody to put the ring on her finger. Happy to oblige, he dropped back down to his knee and slid the ring on to her finger. And no sooner than he did, all of her family came over to congratulate them. It seemed like her mother and sisters all pulled Bailey to one side as they all looked at the ring on her finger. And on the other side, Clyde and all of Cody's soon to be brothers-in-law were clapping him on the back and shoving a drink into his hand - one that he gladly accepted right then. And both groups would have probably continued to keep them both all to themselves except someone shouted out it was a minute until midnight. With that, everyone quickly found their significant others. That allowed Cody and Bailey to finally have a minute alone finally.

And as they danced in each other's arms again, Bailey had to smile and tease.

"You're hands aren't as sweaty now..."

Cody laughed. "Because you said yes! That took a huge load off of my mind..."

Bailey laughed too. "You really thought I wouldn't?"

"Well, I was pretty sure you would, but every time I let the thought of you saying no creep into my mind, I would almost have a panic attack..."

"And that's why you've seemed so distracted and distant the past couple of days..."

"I didn't mean to be, but proposing has been the most nerve wracking thing I've ever done before..."

She smiled. "Well, its almost time for you to kiss your fiancee at midnight. But later on when we're home and alone, I've got a lot of questions for you, Mr. Martin..."

He smiled back. "It'll be my pleasure. Though, I do need to call my Mom at some point and tell her that you said yes. I promised her I would."

"No need to. Momma told me she used her cell phone to broadcast your proposal straight to your Mom's phone. She said she burst into tears watching it and couldn't talk any more..."

Cody laughed. "Well, I'm not surprised. She burst into tears when I showed her the ring the first time. But she's really excited to have a daughter-in-law." He paused to think. "I was just wondering who cried more...you or her."

"Cody?"

"Uh huh?"

Bailey grinned at him. "They're counting down to midnight. Kiss me!"

And he did. Soon after midnight though, all of the Pickett brood decided to head back to the house to have an impromptu engagement party. And once there, there were many toasts as Cody was welcomed to the family. Even Grammy was woken up for the occasion and joined in on the fun. Around 1:30 that morning, Cody did finally call his Mom back and tell her the good news in person. She was still awake waiting for the call, so he put it on speakerphone so that Bailey could talk to her too. First, Carey welcomed Bailey to the family again. Then, she just told them that it was time to start planning the wedding and that London wanted...no demanded to help plan it too. But when Carey broke down crying again, they ended the call.

Bailey just shook her head and laughed, but Eunice reminded her that Carey was her future mother-in-law and not to let Carey catch her doing that. She glanced over at Grammy Pickett who was asleep again and told Bailey that a happy mother-in-law was always a good thing. By two in the morning, everyone decided to finally call it a night. And probably the person the most exhausted was Cody as he felt like he had just got done running a marathon. But Bailey still wanted some answers. So, as they laid in bed, she began grilling him.

"Alright, when did you decide to propose?"

He smiled. "About three years ago..."

She shook her head. "I mean when did you seriously begin planning to do so?"

He paused to think. "Probably about the time that Zack told me about the Gemini Project. With what they were going to pay us, I knew I could use it to finally buy you an engagement ring. One that was worthy of you. The last check was waiting for me in Boston when we got back there for Thanksgiving."

She nodded. "Alright. So, when did you buy the ring?"

"While we were in Boston over Thanksgiving..."

Bailey frowned. "When? I was always with you..." She paused and it dawned on her. "...except when you went to help London fix her computer." She shook her head. "But there was no computer to fix was there? She actually went to help you look for rings, didn't she?"

Cody grinned. "You got it. You sure you weren't in the Kettlecorn Holmies?"

She rolled her eyes and groaned. "Problems with band width. How did I not see through that one?"

He laughed. "I thought it was pretty clever for thinking of it right there on the fly."

"Was the ring in the suite the entire time I was there in Boston?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I couldn't risk you finding it. I picked it up at the store after I dropped you off at the airport. I told my family what I was planning on doing on Christmas morning, and then I asked for your Mom, Dad and Grammy's blessings the morning you were helping out Doc Johnson..."

Bailey just shook her head and laughed. "I didn't realize just how sneaky you could be..."

Cody laughed too. "Well, I am a reformed hooligan, remember? I guess I still remembered a few things. Though, the cat almost got let out of the bag a few times..."

She paused to think. "When London saw us in the lobby when we got back to Boston?"

He nodded. "That was one. Another was when we were looking at the apartment. I almost said it would be our first place as an engaged couple. Fortunately, I was able to hold my tongue..."

Bailey just shook her head and laughed again. "I never saw this coming. I mean, I knew you would one day, but I just didn't see it being tonight." She smiled. "Okay, I will accept you keeping this secret from me this one time. But no more, you got it?"

"Yes, Dear."

"I guess we have a wedding to plan now, huh?"

Cody teased here. "We? You're Dad told me once the ring went on your finger, all I had to do was pick my groomsmen, show up to get fitted for a tuxedo and show up on time..."

Bailey just looked at him in surprise. "Cody!"

"I'm kidding, my soon to be wife. I will do whatever you want me to do make this the wedding of your dreams...whenever you want it to be."

This time, she teased him. "I thought we were going to elope?"

"I just said that after the craziness of Maddie's wedding. We'll do whatever you want to do..."

"I was just kidding too, my soon to be husband. But as long as it ends with me being married to you, it doesn't really matter to me." She snuggled in closer to him. "Just think, three and a half years ago, I was stranded in a strange place and didn't know a single person when this scrawny blonde boy showed up to help me. Little did I know then that I had just met my best friend and soon to be husband..."

"I know what you mean. These past three years have been the best of my life. I'm so glad you're the one I get to spend the rest of my life with."

She looked up. "Same here." Bailey paused and began laughing.

"What?"

"I was just thinking of something my Mom said. She said someday you'd make some lucky woman a fine husband..."

He smiled. "I remember..."

"Well, I'm happy that lucky woman is me."

"I'd say I'm the lucky one."

She snuggled even closer in to him as both closed their eyes. "Codykins?"

Cody was almost asleep. "Yeah, Bails?"

And that's when Bailey dropped a bomb on him. "What would you think of us getting married this summer?"

_To be Continued..._

**AN: Just for future reference, if I'm posting in the morning, its because I fell asleep early the night before. Anyways, this was to be the final chapter, but I made some changes to it so that I could squeeze out five more chapters.**_  
><em>


	76. Mass Planning and Hysteria

_Chapter 76_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

And just like that, Cody's eyes flew open and he looked down at Bailey in surprise. Did she really just ask what he thought of getting married that summer?

"Ummm...Bails? This summer? Are you sure?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah. I don't see the point in waiting. I want to start medical school as Bailey Martin. I want to go ahead and start our life as husband and wife..." She paused. "Do you want to wait?"

Cody shook his head. "No, not at all. But this summer is only about six months away. I'm just worried that that won't be enough time to give you the wedding of your dreams. We'd have to get invitations out by the end of next month. Plus, I've never tried planning a wedding before, so I have no idea about all the little things. Mom has planned hers to Arwin, but she's been planning hers since Zack and I gave her the okay. That's been six months as it is, and they aren't getting married until June."

Bailey paused to think. "You're right. That would be cutting it close." She got up out of bed and went to grab her calendar off the wall. "Okay, lets look at this." She flipped the calendar to August. "Our first day of medical school orientation is Monday, August 24 with classes beginning on Wednesday, August 26th." She looked at the calendar again and grinned. "How does this sound? August 8th is on a Saturday. That would give us an anniversary day of 8-8. I think we can both remember that."

Cody laughed. "8-8 as in 88 as in 88 keys on a piano? Well, I guess we do make beautiful music together..."

She laughed too. "Not what what I was thinking, but I like it. Actually, here's what I was thinking. What do you get when you turn an eight on its side?"

"The symbol for infinity."

"Exactly. That's how long I plan on loving you."

He smiled. "And turn the other eight on its side and you get a second infinity, and that's exactly how long I plan on loving you too. Bails, I like it. August 8th will be the day we get married."

Bailey smiled back. "And that gives us seven months to plan this. Cody, I don't need a big wedding. As long as we are surrounded by our family and friends, that's good enough for me."

"Me too. I guess we need to get your Mom, your Grammy, my Mom and London all together with us to see what we can come up with. But just a warning, we're going to have to keep London reigned in..."

"We can do that...I think."

He grinned. "Me too. Do you still want it outdoors?"

"You remember me saying that?"

"Of course. I remember everything you tell me."

Bailey smiled. "You know what. I think I do. I don't know why, but that sounds perfect to me..."

"Then we're having our wedding outdoors. Now, where outdoors do you have in mind?"

She paused to think. "What would you think of us getting married here on the farm?"

Cody smiled. "Okay, we're getting married outdoors on the farm. In early August. And I'll be wearing a black tuxedo. Remind me to pick up a very large bottle of industrial strength baby powder that week..."

Bailey laughed. "Good idea. Better make it two."

"Sounds like we have a good start on what we want to do..." He yawned. "Can the rest wait until...later this morning. Today's been a very long and stressful day..."

"I know what you mean, and I didn't have to sweat out an answer from you."

He grinned. "No, but you do seem to enjoy dropping large bombs on me right as I'm about to fall asleep..."

She grinned back. "I have to keep you on your toes somehow..."

The next morning, both of them woke up feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep. After sharing a morning kiss, they both donned their robes before they headed downstairs. They were about to leave Bailey's bedroom when Cody noticed the clock in on the wall.

"Ummm...Bails. How did we sleep in until 10:30? Shouldn't we have gotten nature's wake up call hours ago?"

Bailey paused and shrugged. "I don't know..." She smiled. "Maybe we were both so tired we just slept through it?"

Cody shrugged. "Maybe so..."

After heading downstairs, they found Eunice, Clyde and Grammy sitting in the kitchen. And when they walked in, everyone smiled at them and applauded. Clyde began laughing.

"We weren't sure you two were ever going to wake up!"

Bailey laughed too. "Sorry, Daddy...I guess we slept through Foghorn's crow this morning."

Grammy chuckled. "No, you didn't. I had a word with him this morning. I told him you two had a big night last night and needed your rest."

Cody smiled at her. "Thank you. I think we were up until four o'clock explaining how I kept everything a secret and then making some preliminary plans..."

That caught Eunice's attention. "Oh, you have? Like what?"

Bailey smiled. "We want to get married this summer here on the farm. We already have a date picked out. August 8th."

"My, my...You two were busy last night."

"We don't want anything big or fancy. Just a small wedding with our families and friends."

Eunice smiled. "Well, we'll have to sit down with everyone and see what we can come up with."

After eating breakfast, Cody and Bailey headed back upstairs to get cleaned up. The morning chores had already been taken care of while they slept, so they could take their time. Once they had showered and dressed for the day, Cody finally checked his cell phone for the first time since he had called his Mom the night before.

"Wow! I have eight missed calls. I think that's a record for me..."

Bailey smiled. "Who all called?"

He checked his phone. "Three are from my Mom, one from Zack, one from Dad, one from my grandmother and...one from London."

"Probably just calling to congratulate you."

He smiled. "Congratulate us you mean?"

"Of course. Call your Mom back though. If she's called three times, she obviously wants to talk to you about something."

So, that's what Cody did. And when Carey heard his voice, she began crying again. Cody pulled the phone away from his head so her loud sobs wouldn't burst his eardrum. And it was so loud that even Bailey could hear it across the room. She just covered her mouth and tried not to laugh. And it was infectious as Cody was doing his best not to laugh too. Well, that was until Cody heard his name being shouted. He then put the phone back against his ear.

"I'm here..." "London? What happened to my Mom?" "Ohh...okay." "Well, yeah. We've decided a few things like we're going to get married this summer." "August 8th." He paused. "I don't know. I'd have to ask Bailey."

He turned to Bailey. "Is there a hotel or motel here in Kettlecorn?"

She paused to think. "Yeah, there is one downtown, but its pretty old. I think its still open just because its been around for so long. Its called the Grand Kansan, but I'm not sure how grand it is any longer..."

Cody focused back on his cell phone and relayed the information to London and waited for her to check on something. And while he waited, Bailey gave him a funny look.

"What's going on?"

Cody shrugged. "No clue..." When he heard his name again, he began speaking again. "Yeah, I'm here." "Well, we were planning on flying back on Tuesday, the 6th. Dorms open back on the 7th, and we were going to head back to New Haven on the 8th because we have an appointment with our adviser on Friday the 9th. Classes start back the following Monday." Cody's eyes went wide. "What?" "You are?" He paused. "Alright, we'll pick you up on Sunday night..." And with that, the line went dead.

Bailey just looked at him again. "Pick who up?"

Cody paused. "Bails, I think our families are about to finally meet each other. London has already reserved rooms at the Grand Kansan for Sunday and Monday nights. Seems London, Mom, Zack and Maya are all coming to Kettlecorn to help plan our wedding..."

Bailey began laughing. "Wow...Well, I guess I hadn't realized that our families hadn't actually met each other yet. We've been dating for over three years? How did that happen?"

"I guess because we've been away at school away from them. I mean, my parents already know you and yours me, but there hasn't been an opportunity for them to be together in one place...until now."

"True. Well, we should go tell everyone else that we'll have company on Sunday night and Monday..."

And they did. And Bailey's family was thrilled to finally get to meet Cody's family as the two families were soon to be merged. Eunice decided she would cook a large dinner for Sunday evening and invite over all of the Pickett clan to meet the Martins when they arrived. And naturally, Cody and Bailey both volunteered to help her out with that. And on Sunday afternoon, everything was either finishing cooking or ready to put into the oven when Cody and Bailey left to head for Kettlepot to pick up everyone. When the Tipton jet landed, Cody and Bailey were there to meet everyone at the gate. And one by one, they all exited the plane. First was Carey followed by Zack and Maya. Finally, London departed along with a woman neither had ever seen before.

Cody and Bailey welcomed everyone, and when Carey saw the ring on Bailey's finger, she started crying again.

Zack just shook his head. "Ever since you showed us the ring, she'll just break out into tears like that every so often." He paused and looked around. "So, this is Kettlecorn, huh?"

"Actually, this is Kettlepot. Kettlecorn is down the road a little bit."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, if you were driving through and blinked, you might miss it."

Zack just looked at her and began coughing. He turned to Maya. "Are you having trouble breathing too?"

She nodded. "A little bit. Is there something up with the air quality here?"

Cody laughed. "Nope. Its called fresh air. You've both lived in cities with polluted air for so long, your lungs don't know what to do with clean air. I'm used to it now."

They both shrugged, and London walked over to them.

"Alright, we have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. This is Mary, she's the wedding coordinator that did Maddie's wedding. She's here to see what we can do here in corn country. I'll warn you though. She doesn't speak a lot and sometimes, she'll just stare, but she's a genius when it comes to weddings."

Bailey and Cody looked at each other and shrugged. Having a professional around to assist them might actually be helpful especially with the time line they had imposed upon themselves. So, they both just welcomed her to Kansas.

London looked around. "Okay, I hired a limo to come pick us up. Where is that thing?"

About that time, a Ford Focus pulled up next to them and the driver got out holding a sign that said 'Tipton' on it. London rolled her eyes. "I said I hired a limo!"

Bailey spoke up. "Actually, around here, that would be considered a limo. No rust and it has four doors."

London sighed and shook her head. "Fine. Lets get this show on the road."

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the Grand Kansan and checked in. Bailey had been right. The place definitely had seen better days. London just wrinkled her nose in disgust as she looked around.

"This place is a dump! Where are the bellhops? Where is the maid? Where is the wrecking ball?"

Everyone shook their heads and began heading off to put their things in their rooms while Cody and Bailey stayed in the lobby. And both of them looked around too. For Cody, it was his first time here, and for Bailey, it was the first time she had really taken a good look at the place. Both could definitely see that with a little hard work and elbow grease, it wouldn't be so bad. And they weren't the only one who thought so. Carey, Zack and Maya didn't think it was so bad either. The only one who disagreed was London. But then Mary spoke up.

"Actually, its perfect..."

London turned to her. "You spoke! This must be important!"

Mary ignored her comment. "I asked around while you all were unpacking. This is the only hotel in town, so this is where all the out of town family and friends will have to stay. And fortunately, they are completely unbooked for that week leading up to the wedding. So, I've already reserved everything. Plus, it actually has a banquet hall and and a kitchen, so that takes care of a place for the reception. And there's a honeymoon suite for the bride and groom to stay in before they head out for their honeymoon."

Cody and Bailey turned to look at each other in surprise.

"Reception?"

"Honeymoon?"

"I hadn't even thought about either of those..."

Mary smiled. "I see we have a lot of work to do."

Bailey frowned. "I thought the reception would be held outdoors too."

Mary shook her head. "The wedding outdoors should be fine. But putting that much food outdoors will attract locusts from what the guy at the front desk told me."

Bailey shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "That's true. I forgot they can be pretty bad that time of year..."

Cody turned to her. "I guess there is a lot we hadn't thought about."

London rolled her eyes. "Exactly why you two needed me! I swear, all of you would be lost without me in your lives..." She sighed. "I guess this will do for the reception. And the honeymoon is taken care of too."

Cody looked at her. "It is?"

London nodded. "Of course. On August 9th, you'll be flown out to Hawaii. You'll fly back to Boston on the 18th where you'll have a couple of days before its time for you to move back to New Haven."

Cody and Bailey looked at each other again. Their eyes went wide, and they smiled. "Hawaii!" The pulled each other into a hug and began dancing around.

London shook her head. "Don't make me get the hose out for you too..."

Mary nodded. "She has a point. We may have a location for the reception and the honeymoon taken care of, but we need to see the family farm to see what we have to work with there."

Bailey nodded. "Of course. Follow us, and we'll lead you back to the farm."

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the Pickett family farm. And once there, massive introductions were made. Carey, Zack, Maya, London and Mary got to meet Clyde, Eunice, Grammy and all of Bailey's sisters and extended family. From the beginning, Eunice and Carey were like old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time. They disappeared inside as they chatted away. And Clyde had to laugh seeing Cody and Zack standing side by side for the first time in person.

"I don't know why, but I thought I was going to see another Cody..."

Zack turned to his brother. "No offense, Mr. Pickett, but I'm glad you don't. I'm the good looking twin, and Cody is just...bleh"

Clyde frowned. "But you two do look a lot of like though..."

"On me, this look works. On Cody, not so much. Well, except to Bailey..."

Bailey and Maya just laughed. "Daddy, spend any time around them both, and you'll never confuse them. Its like I told you, they are complete opposites."

Clyde just nodded. "I'm beginning to see that already..."

Dinner was served and everyone spend the time getting to know each other. As it was already dark outside, not much scouting could be done for a location to hold the wedding. But the next morning when everyone was up and about to do morning chores, Mary was there with them. As they worked, she walked around looking for just the right spot. And by the time it was lunch time, she thought she had found it.

"There is a spot out amongst the trees and by a creek that I think would be perfect."

Bailey smiled. "I think I know exactly where you're talking about, and I couldn't agree more. Its one of my favorite places on the farm."

Cody turned to Bailey. "That place you took me?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that's the place."

Mary smiled. "Excellent. We still have a lot of work to do. You say you want a small wedding, but how big do you want the wedding party?"

Cody turned to Bailey. "Well, I already know who my best man is, but you tell me how many bridesmaids you want and I will fill in accordingly..."

Bailey nodded. "I think I only want a maid of honor." She smiled. "And Momma, I'd be honored if you would be be that for me."

Eunice just beamed. "Bailey, I'd be honored."

Cody smiled too. "You'll be paired up with my brother Zack then. Hopefully, you can keep him out of trouble."

She laughed. "I'll try my best."

Mary smiled again. "Okay, that's taken care of too." She looked at Cody and Bailey. "When you two get back to Boston, we'll have some measurements of you both taken. London's designer Arturo Vitali wants to design a dress for you. Of course, you have final approval. And Cody, you and your brother will need to be measured for tuxedos. Mr. and Mrs. Pickett, we'll need to get your measurements too for a tuxedo and maid of honor dress."

Eunice nodded. "I can have them for you before you all leave tomorrow."

"Excellent. The other thing we will need soon is a list of family and friends to invite. Today is the 5th. I would like to have them by the the middle of February so invitations can be in the mail by the first of March. That way, we'll have plenty of time to make travel arrangements. Other than that, Cody and Bailey, I want you to be thinking about things such as flowers, color schemes, your wedding rings, the wedding cake and things like that. Cody, your friend Chef Paulo has volunteered to plan the menu of anything you want for the reception and make your wedding cake as well."

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other a little overwhelmed.

Mary continued. "Will you two be able to meet with me in Boston at the end of February to hopefully finalize most everything?"

They both nodded. "Yeah, just tell us when you need us to be there."

Mary smiled. "You two can breathe now. I know this seems like an awful lot to take in right now, but we'll get through it. And before you know it, you'll be man and wife."

__To be Continued...__


	77. The Chaos Continues

_Chapter 77_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

With everyone now having their assignments of what they needed to do, everyone immediately began diving into them. Carey and Eunice got out their address books and Bailey got out hers and Cody's too. Maya volunteered to use Bailey's laptop for them to enter the information into a spreadsheet to make things easier. And while they did, Mary and London headed outside onto the porch and began making phone calls. As everyone was busy working, Clyde just shook his head, and asked Cody and Zack if they could help him with something out in the barn. They both shrugged and followed him outside. But instead of going into the barn, he lead them down in the storm shelter. And once they were all in, Clyde closed the door behind them and walked over to the back wall. Moving some things around, he came back with a mason jar full of an amber liquid. He took a sip and handed it to the twins.

"Here, this will help keep you warm..."

Cody took a small sip before handing it to Zack who took a bigger drink. And his eyes wend wide. "Wow...this tastes just like apple pie!"

Clyde laughed. "Yeah, it does. But apple pie won't knock you on your behind after you go for seconds. I figured with everyone else busy working on wedding plans, it was time for us guys to slip away. They didn't look like they needed us around anyways. Of course, if anyone asks, I didn't give you any of this." He turned to Zack. "I don't know about your girlfriend, but my daughter would not be happy..."

Zack shook his head and laughed. "My lips are sealed too. Maya would definitely frown upon it."

Cldye turned back at Cody and laughed. "So, how did Bailey talk you into a wedding this summer?"

Cody shrugged. "She said its what she wanted, so...here we are."

Clyde nodded. "And so it begins..."

"Well, I guess, but I don't really mind at all. It will be nice to be married before we start medical school. And I proposed because I wanted to marry her, so I will do whatever it takes to make her happy..."

Zack rolled his eyes. "And once again, thank you for doing that so soon. Ever since Maya found out, she hasn't said anything directly, but I can see the look in her eyes..."

Cody laughed. "Oh, come on. I've only known Bailey a few months longer than you've known Maya, but you two started dating before we did. And I know you love her..."

"So? Doesn't mean I'm ready to propose yet. Unlike you who graduates in May, I still have another three years of school. A year and a half in undergrad and then another year and a half getting my MBA. Plus, I didn't save the money from the Gemini Project like you did..."

"Well, I'm sure you have another year and a half before she really reasonably expects anything." He grinned. "I'm have faith in you, Bro..."

Zack just shook his head. "Thanks a lot, baby brother..."

Clyde spoke up. "Baby brother?"

Cody nodded. "Well, technically. I'm the younger twin by ten minutes. Of course, the way Mom tells the story, she was in labor for hours and hours. She always adds just the right amount of guilt in when she says it..."

Clyde laughed. "Well, I'm the youngest child too. I know how all of that goes..."

"Mom also says if Zack hadn't been blocking me, the doctors think I would have come a whole lot earlier. So much earlier that they thought I probably would have been born the night before. Then, you would have had identical twins with different birthdays..."

Clyde just laughed again. "That would be something." He checked his watch. "You guys mind helping me feed the animals? We might as wee be doing something productive if they come looking for us."

But Clyde had nothing to worry about. No one had even noticed they were gone. In fact, they were all still sitting around the dining room table compiling their address lists when the guys finally came back inside. Bailey just happened to glance up at Cody.

"Can you think of anyone else to add to the list, Codykins?"

He paused to think. "Do you have Max and Tapeworm down?"

Bailey nodded. "I do, I just don't have their campus addresses."

"I'll shoot them an e-mail and get that info when we get back to school." He scanned the list. "The only other person I can think of is Nia."

Zack nodded. "Oh yeah...Nia. I wonder what she's up to nowadays?"

Cody shrugged. "Last I heard, she was off at college, but I'm sure she's probably graduated by now. And with Moseby on the boat, we don't get the updates that we used to get."

Bailey looked up at him. "Who is Nia?"

"She's Mr. Moseby's niece. While Maddie was away, she worked the candy counter in the hotel. She often got involved in some our adventures and antics back in the day..."

Zack laughed. "You remember our first day of high school when you, me, London and Nia all got detention?"

Cody smirked at him. "Wasn't that the day you got stuffed in a trash can and to had to have Nia stick up to a bully for you?"

Zack smirked right back. "At least I didn't get into a fight and then beg and plead for it to not go on my permanent record..."

That got Bailey, Eunice, Clyde and Grammy's attention. "You were in a fight, Codykins?"

He sighed. "Sort of. The same bully that stuffed Zack into a trash can started giving my then friend Bob a hard time and pushing him around. Without thinking, I jumped on the guy's back to stop it, but that's as far as I got. Once there, I had no idea what to do next. And that's when Ms. Militich caught us..."

That caused Clyde and Bailey to laugh. "I bet that was a sight to see. Just glad you knew what else to do when that guy tried to grab me on campus..."

Cody smiled. "I just let my instincts and desire to protect you take over."

London looked up. "I still don't know what you two are talking about. I didn't have detention that day..."

Zack smirked at her. "Because you paid some guy to dress like you and do it for you..."

"Oh yeah..." She looked at the twins. "I wish I had a twin so I could have her do everything I don't want to do."

Zack laughed. "Kind of like I used to do..."

Cody just shook his head and wrapped his arm around Bailey's shoulder. "Not anymore. The only person from now on who makes me do things I don't want to do is my future wife here."

Bailey looked up at him. "Cody!"

Clyde laughed. "The boy's already got this husband thing down pat..."

Eunice and Bailey just glared at him. "Clyde!" "Daddy!"

By the end of Monday, a comprehensive list of everyone to invite was almost complete. For those they didn't have addresses, e-mails had been sent asking for them. A phone call had been made to Kurt as well to get his measurements and compile a list of names and addresses from his side of the family. He said he would get right on it, but Cody knew he would have to stay on his Dad to make sure he did it. After that, London and Mary had been busy. Bailey was actually going to meet with Arturo Vitali in Boston on Thursday morning to discuss what she wanted in a dress. With everything else well into motion, everyone took the rest of the day to continue to get to know each other.

On Tuesday, it was time for everyone to head back to Boston. Of course, Bailey told her parents that she would be in constant contact with them letting them know what all was going on. But, the few hours in the air was a great chance just to catch their breath. Bailey laid her head on Cody's shoulder.

"Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails?"

"I'm getting the feeling we should have eloped. Its sounding more and more like the right call..."

He smiled. "Right now it does, but come August, you'll be glad we're doing all of this..."

"I know. With all we have to do, I'm glad we have an easy final semester coming up."

"Me too. I was thinking. Maybe we should schedule our real classes on Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. That way, we'll have Fridays off if we have to make any trips to Boston or New York."

Bailey nodded. "Good idea. Those may come in handy..."

"Hopefully, we can head to Boston right before spring break and have everything finalized and ready to go before we leave for the boat." He grinned. "Besides, Valentine's Day is on a Saturday, so maybe we'll try to take a long weekend somewhere to celebrate."

She smiled back. "That sounds really good to me."

"Just because we're engaged now doesn't mean I'm going to stop being as romantic as I can..."

"I know, Sweetie. I have no plans on stopping either."

Once back in Boston, they were able to do some things to make them feel almost normal again. With them heading back to school on Thursday afternoon, they both had a laundry to do. And doing that together turned out to be a very relaxing and therapeutic thing to do. And figuring they needed something else to keep them calm and relaxed on Wednesday, Cody suggested they head to the Frog Pond at Boston Common to do some ice skating. For the past few years, he had been teaching Bailey how to skate and by then, she was actually quite good. So, off they went and Zack and Maya joined them.

And everything was going fine until they almost literally ran into Bob and another girl. Things were a little awkward at first before Bob spoke up.

"Its good to see you again, Cody. I...ummm...well, I wanted to apologize to you again. I violated the Guyble, and I regret that. I knew Barbara was off limits, but for some reason, I couldn't help myself. And I've paid for that ever since. I shouldn't have been surprised when she cheated on me too. But what hurts the most is that I lost one of my best friends because of her. I'm now dating Amber here, so I'm much better off in that way. But, I know it will be a long time if ever before you and I can be any kind of friends again..."

Cody paused and sighed. "Its like I said years ago. I should actually be thanking you. You opened my eyes to what kind of person Barbara really was. I was going to break up with her anyways, but it made it easier to do so once I knew what she was really like. You remember Bailey, don't you?"

Bailey waved and Bob nodded. "Yeah, I remember her from the coffee shop and museum."

Cody smiled. "Well, she and I are getting married this summer. I love her more than life itself and knowing what that feeling is like, I wish everyone could experience it too. So, I wish you luck with your new relationship. But you're right, I'm not sure if there is anything left of our friendship. I wish you well, but that's all I can do."

Bob nodded again. "I completely understand. And Congratulations." He turned to Bailey. "You've got you a good man here..."

She smiled. "I know I do. And like Cody said, I wish you well too."

Bob was about to say something else when they were interrupted.

"Well, well...if it isn't my loser ex boyfriends..."

Everyone turned to see Barbara standing there with a new guy on her arm. She turned to him. "These are the two guys I was telling you about. Neither one would know what romance was if it hit them in the face..."

The other four just began laughing. None more so than Bailey. "Not know what romance is? I can't speak for Bob, but Cody is the most romantic guy I know. He's always romancing me." She smirked and held out her hand to show off her engagement ring. "You should have seen the romantic way he proposed to me..."

Barbara was taken aback at hearing that. "Y...y...you're engaged?"

Bailey grinned. "Uh huh. I know what kind of guy my feller is and would never do anything to risk losing him." She turned to the guy with Barbara. "You should be forewarned...to Barbara, she thinks monogamy is a kind of wood. Did she tell you she cheated on both of these guys when she dated them? And you might want to watch her relationships with her professors..."

The guy just turned to Barbara. "What is she talking about?"

Barbara glared at Bailey before turning to him. "Its nothing! Its all in my past, and I've grown up and changed since then!"

The guys shook his head. "Unbelievable! Didn't you think I had the right to know about all of that?" And with that, he stormed off with Barbara running after him. Cody just shook his head and turned to Bailey.

"I think we've had enough excitement for today. What do you say to us heading back to the hotel?" He grinned. "We'll head to the spa and soak in the hot tub."

Bailey grinned back. "Sounds perfect to me."

Cody looked up. "See you, Bob. Good luck."

Bob nodded and everyone went their separate ways.

Bailey turned to Cody. "What's the guyble?"

"Its another term for the guy code. You know, that set of unwritten rules that a guy is supposed to follow."

"Like what?"

"Well, like Bob said. A buddy's girlfriend is completely off limits. Even if they breakup, she's still off limits unless you ask for your buddy's permission to ask her out. And if he doesn't give permission, she'll continue to be off limits."

"Sounds complicated, but makes sense."

Cody grinned. "I know. That's why I'm so glad I have you so I never have to worry about them ever again."

Thursday brought with it Cody and Bailey packing up the car and getting ready to head back to school...and some semblance of normalcy. But before they left, they had a couple of stops first. The first stop was downstairs to talk to Chef Paulo about their reception menu. And fortunately, it went very smoothly. Quickly, they agreed that a combination of Boston and Kansas cuisine would be perfect as it would represent both of them. Chef Paulo said he would work up just the right menu and forward it to them for their approval. That left their wedding cake, and he said he wanted to surprise them if they would let him. And since he had never disappointed them before, they had no problems with him doing that.

That left them one stop to go. Up to London's penthouse for a meeting with Arturo Vitali. And from the minute they walked in, he pulled Bailey into the middle of the room and just walked around looking at her from different angles. Bailey felt a little uncomfortable and just looked at Cody who could only shrug.

Finally, Arturo stopped and smiled. "I have just the thing. This is going to be my piece de resistance!"

London rolled her eyes. "I seriously doubt that..."

Arturo kept talking. "I was feeling like I had done just about everything before, but this will be a new challenge." He looked at Bailey. "I love your personal style. Would you consider letting me do a line of clothes based on you and your look?"

Hearing that, London was aghast. "You can't be serious!"

Bailey was taken aback too, but she shook her head. "I'm flattered, but I don't have the time right now. I'm trying to plan a wedding for August while finishing school and graduating. My time will be stretched thin as it is..."

He shrugged. "Oh well...worth a shot. But I have a brilliant idea in mind. A wedding dress for summer on the farm." He paused. "Probably don't want a long train so we avoid grass stains, but I can work with that. I need to get you measured."

Once he did that, Bailey gave him her mother's measurements for the bridesmaid dress.

"I'll have my designs ready for when your back in Boston in March. We can take him shopping for tuxedos then too. I want to go get to work right now!"

And with that, Cody and Bailey were out of there and on their way to the car. And as they walked to the car, Bailey turned to Cody.

"Arturo Vitali was certainly...interesting."

Cody nodded. "Yeah..." He paused. "Not that there is anything wrong with that..."

"Of course not."

He smiled "You ready to head back to school so we can actually get some rest?"

Bailey laughed. "More than. I'm ready to get back to where everything makes sense. Lets go!"

__To be Continued...__


	78. Their Other Big Day

_Chapter 78_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Being back in New Haven was a relief to them both. There only people there who knew they were engaged was two of them each. As much as they loved their families and friends, they were both on wedding overload at the moment. They had been engaged for a week, and the drive back to Yale was the first time they had talked about anything besides the wedding in that time span. On Thursday night, they were grateful to be able to focus on something else like their schedules for the upcoming semester. However, with only having to decide on two classes and being able to take whatever they wanted, that didn't last too long. But, they did decide to go with both of their classes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings so they would have long weekends every week.

Fortunately, Friday was spent meeting with their adviser, finalizing their schedule, buying their books and supplies and making another run to Wal-Mart for things they would need. But once they got back to their room, their respite was about to end. They were enjoying just lounging around on Friday night and watching TV when there was a knock at the door. Cody got up to answer it and found Monica standing there smiling. Immediately, she hugged him.

"Hey guys! I just got back in town and wanted to stop by and see how your break was."

Bailey got up off the bed and joined Cody at the door. "Well, it was...eventful."

Monica smiled. "Yeah? Did Cody propose or something?"

Bailey looked at Cody before extending her hand. "As a matter of fact...he did."

Monica's eyes went wide, and she shrieked. She pulled Bailey into a hug and squeezed her tight. "You have to tell me everything!"

So, Cody and Bailey did, and in the process, they found themselves back in wedding mode again. They told her they had a date already set, and London had already brought in a wedding coordinator to organize everything. And of course, they told her that she and George were getting an invitation when they finally were ready to go out. Monica promised that they would be there, and then she insisted they all go out Saturday night to celebrate. Cody and Bailey agreed, but it was still close to midnight before Monica finally headed back up to her room. And by then, Cody and Bailey were exhausted.

As they laid back in bed, Bailey turned to Cody and sighed. "I really, really think you were right when you said we should elope..."

He smiled at her. "I know it sounds really good right now, but think of it this way. Come August 9th, we'll just be another married couple except we'll be on our way to Hawaii for our honeymoon. And I for one can't wait to see you in a grass skirt..."

That brought a smiled to her face. "You're right. But...I won't be the only one wearing one, Mr. Martin. You'll be in one too, and like you said, as your wife, I'll be able to make you do things you don't want to do..."

Cody laughed. "I remember. But until then, we have to keep our focus on school. We don't want to lose our 4.0s our last semester."

"You're right again. But there are a few things I need to do on Monday. I need to inform housing that our lease should be put in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Martin. And I need to let the medical school admissions office know I will be Mrs. Martin too."

He grinned. "Keep calling yourself Mrs. Martin. I love hearing you say that..."

She snuggled up against him. "I love saying it."

Monday finally came, and with them not having classes that day, Bailey was able to take care of her errands. And they soon learned that them getting married that summer was a blessing in disguise. The medical school had a policy that married couples would be put on the same schedule to make things easier for them at home, and both were happy to hear that. But come Tuesday, it was back to classes for them. And being back in the halls of academia felt better to them than it ever had.

Early on in the semester, both engrossed themselves heavily into their senior projects hoping to finish them as soon as possible. So, while everyone else was easing themselves back in the swing of things, they were spending long nights in the library and labs doing research and gathering their sources. By the beginning of February, they were ready to put everything together on their projects and begin typing them. Having three free days a week helped them make excellent time and progress, and their goal was to have rough drafts done by the time they left for spring break. As for their other classes, they had wisely chosen easy classes that didn't take much effort on their parts beyond nominal reading.

And having school to dominate their focuses made the times they had to take care of wedding details bearable. And fortunately, Kurt had came through strong for them. By the end of January, he emailed them a complete list of names and addresses from his side of the family as well as his measurements. Cody immediately responded back a thank you before forwarding the information to Mary. And by the end of January, they had gotten back all the addresses from others they would need including one for Nia. Mary asked them if they could come into Boston soon to finalize some things, and they agreed.

And like he promised, Cody had a getaway for Bailey for Valentine's Day. Turns out Max's family had a cabin up in New Hampshire that they were going to let him borrow. So, Cody and Bailey picked out the invitations they wanted before heading up to the cabin to be alone for a few days. And that was exactly what they needed. They focused on each other for a couple days and nothing else. By the time they had to leave to head back to school, both had recharged batteries and had big smiles on their faces.

With the invitations now in the mail, they had nothing to deal with except school until spring break. And like they had planned, they finished their rough drafts on that Thursday night, and headed back to Boston early Friday morning. And that's when the fun began. Over the course of Friday and Saturday in Boston, they picked out tuxedos, Bailey signed off on to Arturo's wedding dress and bridesmaid dress design, chose flowers, color schemes, picked out wedding rings and approved of Chef Paulo's proposed menu. By the time they left on Sunday morning to head for the S.S. Tipton, they were in need of a vacation.

But they had one wedding related task to do once they got there, and they got it out of the way right off the bat. Standing in front of the ship's front desk, they rang the bell and were smiling when Mr. Moseby emerged.

"Hey, Mr. Moseby!"

Moseby sighed. "Already that time of year again, huh?""

Cody smiled. "Yeah, it is."

"Well, its good to see you both again. I hope all is going well with you both."

Bailey smiled at him. "Very well actually. We have something for you. Cody?"

Cody reached into his carry-on bag and pulled out an envelope and handed it to Moseby. He looked at it questioningly and opened it. And once he began reading it, his eyes went wide and he looked up at them.

"You're getting married?"

Cody smiled again. "We sure are. On August 8, and we'd be honored if you would be there."

Moseby just shook his head and laughed. "One of the hooligans is getting married. I feel old now!"

Cody paused. "Mom says the same thing."

He smiled at them. "I'd be honored to be there"

Bailey grinned. "Good. You and the guest of your choice...though I think we all know who that will be. London just said to contact her and she would arrange your transportation to and lodging in Kettlecorn."

"I'll do that. Congratulations to you both. I wish you both nothing but the best. And you, young lady, must be a saint for agreeing to marry this one here. Now, here are the keys to your cabin. Have some fun and try to forget about things for a while."

And ten days on board were just what they needed. They were able to relax and think of nothing except whatever they wanted to. In fact, they even spent another day para-sailing, jet skiing and scuba diving. And like their Valentine's get away, both returned back to New Haven full refreshed and ready for the final couple of months of their undergraduate careers. Not that they had all that much to do though as all that was left was the final edits of the second halves of their senior projects and finishing up their last two GUT classes.

By the time reading week came, their senior projects had been turned in and completed. And like the semester before, they breezed through their last two finals. When they were done, they literally had nothing to do for the first time in a long time. And they enjoyed that. As they lounged on their bed, Bailey turned to Cody.

"What do we do now? The wedding is all planned and we've finished all of our classes..."

He paused and grinned. "I can think of something..."

She grinned back. "I like the way you think..." She paused though. "I just wish we didn't have to spend this summer apart again..."

Cody wrapped his arms around her. "I know, but this will be the last time we have to apart. After this summer, you'll be my wife, and I won't be letting you out of my sights and arms ever again..."

"I won't either..."

"And this summer won't be as bad as other ones. You're still coming to Boston for Mom and Arwin's wedding and the 4th of July. I'm still coming to Kettlecorn for the Mulch Festival. Plus, July 31st will be both of our last days of work, and on August 1st, I'll be on my way back to Kettlecorn again for the wedding. The way I see it, we'll never have to go more than a few weeks without being with each other." He smiled. "And come August 1st, there will be no getting rid of me ever again..."

Bailey sighed in contentment. "Sounds good to me."

"So, until our families get here for graduation, it will be just you and me. The last time we'll have that until we leave for Hawaii..."

She grinned. "I guess we should take advantage of that, huh?"

He grinned back. "I think so..."

Bailey leaned in and kissed him. And then she stopped. "Codykins?"

"Yeah, Bails?"

"After graduation, would you mind if we didn't make love again until we're married? I know it may sound kind of silly, but I want our wedding night to be special."

Cody smiled at her. "Bails, our wedding night was always going to be special because you would finally be my wife. But, if that's what you want, that's what we'll do. It will be difficult because I hope you know by now that I can't ever get enough of you."

She smiled too and kissed him again. "I feel the same way about you. But like they say, the best things in life are worth waiting for..."

He teased her. "So, is that why we're getting married in August?"

She laughed. "Okay, okay...You got me there. Somethings, I refuse to wait that long for."

"Bails, you are, always have been and always will be worth any wait..."

She leaned in and kissed him again. "Well, right now, we have nothing to wait for, so what are we waiting for?"

He leaned in and kissed her. "Absolutely nothing."

A week later on Friday though, their families had descended on New Haven for graduation. From Kettlecorn, Clyde, Eunice and Grammy had made their way in first. And Cody and Bailey were there to pick them up at the airport. After getting them checked into their hotel, they brought them back to campus to give them a tour of the place. First and foremost, they wanted to see their room. And they were rather impressed with what Cody and Bailey affectionately called the dungeon.

Grammy smiled. "I like it. Its quaint. And you have everything down here you need."

Cody smiled back. "Almost. We don't have our own kitchen, and we're reliant on the whims of the dining hall..."

Eunice laughed. "That must be rough for someone who can actually cook. Knowing you can do better than anything they put out there."

"It is, but next year, we'll have a kitchen, so I have that to look forward to."

Clyde nodded. "I have to admit. For as warm as it is outside, its nice and cool down here."

Bailey grinned. "That's the perk of it being almost completely underground. Cool in the summers and warm in the winters."

"Well, how about we go see your new place if we can?"

So, that's what they did. A model apartment was open, so Cody and Bailey showed them around as they explained the plans they had for every room. But as they were walking around, Cody got the call that his parents, Arwin, Zack and Maya had just arrived in town. He directed them to a place to park and then directed them how to get to the apartment. Twenty minutes later, Kurt, Carey, Arwin, Zack and Maya showed up to see the apartment as well. And for the first time, the Picketts got to me Kurt and Arwin in person. Suffice to say, meeting them both explained a whole lot. Meeting Kurt, they could see where Cody got a lot of his looks and mannerisms. And meeting Arwin, Clyde finally got to meet the person who had inspired Cody in his tinkering and inventing. They thought he was a little odd, but a good guy nonetheless.

After seeing the apartment, the Boston crew needed to go check into their hotel as well and freshen up. But Kurt said he wanted to take everyone out to celebrate the impending graduation of his youngest son and soon to be daughter-in-law. And that's exactly what they did, and Kurt and Arwin got a chance to further get to know their future in-laws.

Saturday brought with it Yale's undergraduate graduation ceremony. That morning was a large brunch ceremony that select students were invited to for departmental awards and recognition, and Cody and Bailey had both been invited to attend. Within the departments of Biology and Chemistry, they were both honored with awards and honor chords. They even shared an award for students continuing on to Yale Medical School that came with a nice cash prize.

All that was left was graduation itself which would take place outside on Central Campus. After opening remarks and the keynote speaker (a Yale graduate high in the Obama administration), it was time for everyone to walk across the stage. The diplomas would be mailed later, but every graduate would be honored by telling the gathered crowd their degrees earned and other accomplishments. When it came time for Cody and Bailey to cross the stage, both of their families stood up and cheered loudly for them both. And when it was all over, they all went out to dinner to celebrate the two new graduates.

But after that, Cody and Bailey were going to be heading different directions again. Bailey would be flying back to Kansas with her parents while Cody followed his parents back to Boston. And as they were alone one last time in their room, they said their goodbyes.

"Our last time in the room, huh?"

Bailey nodded and looked around. "Yeah...Feels like I'm saying goodbye to my home." She turned to him. "Feels like I'm saying goodbye to everything right now."

Cody smiled at her. "Nope. Because you're coming to Boston for my Mom's wedding in a few weeks and then a couple of weeks later, I'm coming to Kettlecorn for the Mulch Festival. Besides, this room will always be a special place to us. We've shared a lot of wonderful memories here."

She smiled back. "Yeah we have. And we'll share a bunch of wonderful new ones in our new place."

"Exactly. And this place was my home because you were here with me. It will be the same with our apartment."

"You're right."

He grinned and teased her. "I don't expect to hear that very often starting August 9th..."

"Cody!"

"I'm just kidding." He leaned in and kissed her. "Now, you take care of yourself for me. Everything for the wedding should be taken care of, but if anything comes up, you let me know immediately."

"I will."

"Good. Just remember how much I love you, and I can't wait for you to be my wife."

"I love you too and can't wait to be your wife." She leaned in and kissed him.

"Now, go on and get out of here." He grinned. "The sooner you leave, the sooner I see you again."

She grinned back. "Alright." She paused. "Oh, and Cody?"

"Yeah, Sweetheart?"

"Has Zack mentioned anything about a bachelor party to you yet?"

Cody laughed. "Not yet. But if he does, I'll make sure to let you know immediately..."

She smiled. "Good."

"Alright, we have to go now. Though I'm not looking forward to the ride back one bit."

"Why's that?"

"Dad's riding back with me. Supposedly on the ride down, he and Mom got into an argument over who's music career was better and who had the better hits..."

Bailey just laughed as they both left their dorm room for the final time.

__To be Continued...__


	79. Getting Closer and Closer

_Chapter 79_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Being separated over that summer seemed very weird to them both. After they had gotten engaged, it just didn't seem right for them to have to spend two months apart from the other. But Cody had been right about one thing. With them heading back and forth between Boston and Kettlecorn all summer, there weren't any long stretches where they had to go without seeing each other in person. And it wasn't more than a few weeks after graduation that Bailey found herself on her way back to Boston for Carey and Arwin's wedding. She was really looking forward to it for several reason. First, Arwin was going to be her soon to be stepfather-in-law. Second, as a bride to be herself, she would be observing it differently than she normally would. If she saw something she really liked, she would forward it on to Mary. If she saw something she really didn't like, she would forward it on to Mary as well.

After Cody picked her up at the airport, they headed back for the hotel. And as they did, they caught up on the current status of their own wedding.

"According to Mary, everything should be ready. The chairs for the wedding are supposed to arrive at the farm on that Saturday morning before the wedding. And everything will be begin to be set up as soon as they arrive."

Cody nodded. "I sure hope the weather cooperates with us that day..."

Bailey just looked at him. "Are you trying to jinx us?"

Immediately, he shook his head. "Of course not." He paused trying to think of way to change the subject quickly. "Did I mention Mom has a surprise for you back at the hotel?"

"What kind of surprise?"

He grinned. "Bails, its not my surprise to give away. You'll just have wait to find out."

She grinned back. "As I recall, you agreed you wouldn't keep any more secrets from me..."

He laughed. "I'm not. This isn't my secret to keep."

Once back at the hotel, Cody carried Bailey's bags upstairs and they settled back into the suite on the 24th floor. And just as they had sunk into the couch, Carey walked back into the suite. She smiled when she saw Bailey there.

"Excellent. Just the person I was looking for."

"Yeah, Cody said you had a surprise for me."

"I do..." Carey walked into her bedroom and came back out holding a green dress. "What do you think of this?"

Bailey looked at it and nodded. "Its very beautiful. Is it for a special occasion?"

Carey smiled. "It is. Its your bridesmaid dress for my wedding. I got your measurements from Arturo, so it should fit perfectly..."

Bailey's eyes went wide in surprise. She turned to Cody who just smiled back at her. Then she turned back to Carey. "You want me to be one of your bridesmaids?"

"I'd be honored if you would. Zack and Cody are going to be Arwin's best men. And well, your going to be my daughter-in-law in less than two months. So...I was hoping..."

Bailey smiled. "No, its me who would be honored. I would love to be your bridesmaid...Mom."

And with that, the waterworks began for both of them as the pulled each other into a hug. Cody just stood there shaking his head. He was really beginning to fear how his Mom was going to react when the day came to tell her she was going to be a grandmother. But, if the two most important women in his life were happy, he wouldn't complain.

A couple of days later, Carey and Arwin's wedding went off without a hitch. Arwin was now officially Zack and Cody's stepfather and Bailey's soon to be stepfather-in-law. And Carey and Arwin were off to the S.S. Tipton themselves for a honeymoon on the high seas. And as their last parting shots before they left the hotel ballroom, they tossed their bouquet and garter. Naturally, Bailey and Cody caught them and got teased mercilessly that they were the next to get married. But before he left, Arwin gave something to Zack – the keys to his apartment near the BC campus. And when they were alone together, Zack did his closest to proposing to Maya that he was ready for. He asked her to move in and live with him. And she readily accepted knowing it was a huge step on Zack's part.

Of course, that meant the twins were going to be by themselves for a week in the hotel. And before she left, Carey made Cody promise he would keep Zack fed and out of trouble. Since Cody wasn't due to leave for Kettlecorn until after she returned, he had no problem doing that. Unfortunately though, Bailey had to leave to head back home the day after the wedding. She wanted to work as much for Doc Johnson as she could before she quit work on July 31st.

When the newlyweds got home a week later, they were happy to see both twins were still alive and the suite still in one piece. But they were only back a few days when it was time for Cody to head out for the mulch festival. And once he got there, Bailey was anxious to show him all the changes that had been made to the farm in preparation for their wedding.

The first stop was the Grand Kansan. And when Cody walked inside, he barely recognized the place. It looked like it had been repainted and hosed off with a lemon scented all-purpose cleaner. Bailey told him that the town's residents had said they had never seen it in such good condition. But that wasn't the biggest change. When they got back to the farm, she immediately took him out to the area where they were going to be married. And he was blown away with what he saw. All of the trees had been trimmed and new ones had been planted to compliment them. And there were flowers planted all over the place essentially turning the area into a little garden.

"Wow..."

"I know, right?"

Cody just shook his head. "This is more than I ever could have imagined..."

Bailey smiled. "Me either. My older sisters are jealous, and my little sisters have already said they're getting married here too when the time comes. And my Mom? She's over the moon. She absolutely loves it and can't wait for the gazebo to be built."

Cody turned to her. "Gazebo?"

She laughed. "Yeah, the builders are supposed to be here next month. Its where you, me and the preacher are going to be standing so everyone can see us."

He just shook his head again and laughed too. "Alright...I didn't know if it was possible, but its all coming together in such a short time. I'll never doubt London's abilities again..."

But for the next couple of days, Cody focused on other parts of the farm as he was put to work again. And he didn't mind at all. In about six weeks, he would be a member of the Pickett family, so he wanted to do whatever he could to help out his new family. And by Friday, it was time for the Mulch Festival again.

And all day, people would stop Cody and Bailey and congratulate them again and tell them they were looking forward to their wedding. But they still had time to hit the midway and ride rides and partake in junk food. They were taking the opportunity just having fun and being a little silly when they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"I see you've brought the city slicker back here once again, and I hear you're actually going to marry him this summer..."

They turned around to see Betty Lou standing there smirking at them with a toddler on her hip. Bailey just shook her head and sighed

"Betty Lou. I wish I could say it was good to see you again." Bailey paused and smirked back. "Every figure out who your baby daddy was?"

That caused Betty Lou's eyes to go wide. "Why you little..."

Cody interrupted her. "We'll take that as a no." He turned to Bailey. "Is it just me, or don't you think she and Barbara would be great friends?"

Bailey laughed. "Maybe so...But I bet they would end up stabbing each other in the back over some guy."

Betty Lou was fuming and turned around and stormed away.

"Oh darn...She stormed off...again."

Cody laughed. "Who didn't see that coming?"

"I'm not surprised either..."

Both shuddered and turned around to find themselves face to face with Moose for the first time in three years. And both groaned as it looked like their luck had gotten even worse.

"I take it you two aren't very happy to see me. And I can't say I blame you. I did a lot of stupid and bad things when I was..." He paused and laughed. "...young and dumb. But, I'd like to think I've grown up some in the past few years. Being off in Alaska kind of forced me to do that."

Bailey sighed. "Well, I guess we should be glad something did..."

He nodded. "I'm even married now with an actual child of my own. A daughter. I brought them all home so they could meet my family. And I have to say, the first time I held my little girl in my arms, I knew I would have killed a boy if he had done the things to her I did to you. So for everything I did, I'm truly sorry. I know it doesn't mean anything to you, but I am. And my grandmother told me you two were going to medical school at Yale and getting hitched this summer. Congratulations. I wish you both the best." He paused and looked at Cody. "I hope you know how lucky you are. You have a great girl who seems to really love you. You better treat her right..."

Cody nodded. "I will. I love her more than anything. I know how lucky I am, and I plan on taking good care of her for the rest of our lives."

Moose nodded again. "Good. Well, I need to go find my little family. Again, good luck." And with that, he turned and walked away.

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other in confusion.

"Okay, that was...weird."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, but if he's got his own family now, maybe it means he won't bother us anymore. Lets look at the positives of it. He's his wife's problem now, now ours."

"I sure hope so. And if she really has tamed him, she should be nominated for sainthood..."

She laughed. "You can say that again..."

But they didn't have much time to worry about it as it was almost time for the crowning of the corn queen. And Bailey was more than happy to sit back and just watch. In fact, her younger sister, Wendy, was up for it this year, and Bailey and Cody were rooting hard for her to win. And Wendy did in fact win to keep the family's winning streak alive. And in the course of the celebration, an older lady teased Cody and Bailey that they were going to have to start having daughters so a new generation of Picketts could keep the streak alive.

However, the mulch festival had to come to an end, and with it over, Cody had to head back to Boston for work on Monday. Right before he departed to help ease their goodbye, he did tell Bailey that the next time he left Kettlecorn, he would be taking her with him as his wife with him and on their way to their honeymoon. That made Bailey smile, and she told him to hurry up and come back.

But there was still one more trip to Boston in store for her that summer for the 4th of July. And on that trip, they once again went to the Boston Pops 4th of July fireworks celebration. But that trip wasn't a completely laid back one. They ended up helping Zack and Maya begin to move things into their new apartment together. Of course, they did make sure they got a reciprocal agreement from Zack and Maya to help them move into their new apartment the next month.

Finally, July came to a close. Friday, July 31st was the final day of work for both Cody and Bailey. And finishing work, they could completely focus on their wedding coming up the following Saturday. That night, Cody did all of his laundry so he would have clothes to wear in Kettlecorn and to take on his honeymoon the week after. Once that was done, he was all packed up and ready to go. Bailey had done the same thing, and had a bag packed for her honeymoon and a other boxes of things Carey was going to take back to Boston with her when it was over.

On August 1st, Cody, Zack, Maya, Carey, Arwin, and London all flew out heading towards Kettlecorn. Bailey was there to meet them again as well as another two rental cars. One was for London and the other was for the Martin family. They were all going to be the first guests and the new and improved Grand Kansan. Cody would be staying with Bailey on the farm until Friday night when he would be staying at the hotel too. But everyone had a few days to relax until Wednesday when the fun would begin. And on Sunday, there were even more arrivals – including Kurt Martin and his new girlfriend, Sandy. And his boys and their girlfriends spent a couple of days to get to know her. From what they could tell, she was very nice and genuinely seemed to really care about Kurt.

Wednesday brought with it the final fittings for everyone. Cody, Zack, Kurt, Arwin and Clyde got their tuxedos fitted at the hotel while Bailey and Eunice had their dresses fitted at the farm. A few minor alterations, and everything was ready to go for Saturday.

Thursday brought with it surprises for the bride and groom to be. All of the men practically kidnapped Cody off for a last night as a free man down at the local tavern. They promised Bailey they would return him alive and keep him out of trouble. But Bailey had her own situation to deal with. All of the women threw her an impromptu bridal shower at the house. And all of them had presents for her.

When she opened the present from Maya, her eyes went wide. "Oh my!" Inside the box was a very revealing white satin and sheer negligee.

Maya grinned. "I thought that might come in handy on your honeymoon. I'm sure Cody will love it..."

Bailey felt herself blushing a little bit which caused everyone to laugh. "I'm sure he will..."

And while some of the gifts she got were more practical, Bailey's older sisters all seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Maya. Bailey could just shake her head. "Well, I guess I know what you all think we'll be doing in Hawaii..."

Grammy laughed. "Yeah, the same thing I did on my honeymoon and the same thing your Momma did on hers..."

Bailey's face went even redder in embarassment. "Grammy!"

Fortunately, Eunice chose that time to serve the cake that had been made for the occasion. And after a few minutes, Bailey's face returned to its normal shade. But for the rest of the evening, everyone was telling stories of their wedding days and honeymoons.

Close to midnight, the guys brought Cody back to the house, and a couple of them were carrying him inside. Bailey just shook her head and laughed as they carried him up to her bedroom. She told them she would get him changed for bed and would take it from there. After taking off his shoes, she was about to unbutton his shirt when she felt a hand on her wrist.

"Are they gone?"

She looked up in surprise and saw Cody looking at her.

"Cody! I thought you were passed out!"

He grinned and laughed. "Nope. I had a few drinks at the beginning, but when I went up to use the bathroom, I asked the bartender to do me a favor. I explained I was getting married on Saturday and had no desire to be hung over tomorrow for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. So, he agreed to make sure all of the beers brought to me were drafts and non-alcoholic ones while any shots of bourbon were actually sweet tea. So, while my BAC won't be very high, my blood sugar might me..."

She just laughed too. "Very sneaky, Mr. Martin..."

"Thank you, Sweetie. How did your evening go?"

Bailey paused. "Lets just say they gave me a few things for our honeymoon. And from those, it seems they are expecting us to be like a couple of rabbits in Hawaii..."

Cody grinned. "They aren't the only ones..."

Bailey just shook her head and smiled. "Behave yourself for a couple of more days, and we'll see what we can do about that."

"I guess this is our last night together living in sin, huh?"

She nodded and laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. Tomorrow night, you'll be at the hotel."

"Come here then. I need to hold you as long as I can to make up for not getting to tomorrow night."

Friday brought with it the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. And fortunately, it didn't take them too long to get everything right. Once that was over, it was time for the rehearsal dinner. Unlike other ones, this one was pretty informal. It was essentially a cookout and barbecue held on the family farm. All of Cody's family and friends were raving about the pulled pork and ribs, but Cody didn't have the heart to tell them that they had probably met the pig they were eating a couple of days ago.

After eating and just hanging around and talking to all of their guests who had finally arrived in Kettlecorn like Esteban, Francesca, Maddie, Trevor, Monica, George, Moseby and Tut, it was time to call it a night. And that meant Cody had to head to the hotel.

"Well, I guess this it then. One final night apart before a lifetime together, huh?"

Bailey smiled at him. "That's a good way to look at it. I'll see you tomorrow evening about six. I'll be the one in the white dress."

Cody smiled back at her. "I'll be the blond in the tuxedo. Well, one of them anyways. But I'll be the one whose mouth is wide open seeing how beautiful you look."

"This time tomorrow, you'll be my husband."

"And you'll be my wife."

Bailey leaned in and kissed. "Yeah, I will. I'll see you at the gazebo..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: I've got some good news and bad news. I'm taking the bar exam a week from this upcoming Tuesday and Wednesday, so my focus will be mainly on it until then. I even took a practice test today, and I'm begin to get a little freaked out. I did pretty well on it, but it was insanely hard. The multiple choice questions don't ask for the right answer but rather for the best answer. I hate those. Anyways, back to my original point. The bad news is that I won't be starting a new story or updating NKOTB or KTHB during this time. The good news is that writing this story helps me keep my sanity while I'm studying. This morning, I finished writing Ch. 80 and realized instead of ending the story, I would continue on with it. No clue what the final chapter will be, but I've gotten to the point where I can ****wrap it all up in a chapter if I need to. So, for the second time, I'm extending the story.**__  
><em>_


	80. The Big Day

_Chapter 80_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Saturday, August the 8th finally arrived in Kettlecorn. On the farm, Bailey got to sleep in late again, and when she woke up, she reached over for Cody. He wasn't there, but she quickly remembered why and a big smile formed on her face. Checking the clock on her wall, she saw it was almost nine o'clock. Donning her robe and duck slippers, she headed downstairs to find her mother, father and grandmother all sitting around the kitchen table. And when she entered the room, they all looked up at her and smiled.

"How are you feeling this morning, Pumpkin?"

Bailey grinned. "Never been better. I'm getting married in nine hours!"

Eunice grinned back at her and got up to fix her a plate for breakfast. "Yeah, you are. You better eat this then so you have your strength for later..."

Bailey nodded and began digging into her eggs. As she did that, Clyde looked up at his wife. "So, what's the schedule for today?"

"The hairdresser is supposed to be here about one this afternoon, and Carey and Maya are supposed to be here by then to help Bailey get ready. The pictures of Bailey and us are supposed to be at 3:00, and the pictures of Cody and his family are supposed to be at 4:00. The guests should start arriving around 5:20. The ceremony is at six, and then the joint pictures are immediately after it. The reception is supposed to start about 8:00."

Clyde nodded. "Alright. Well, I think I'm going to..." But before he could finish, they heard a noise coming from outside. "...go check and see what that was..." And with that, Clyde got up to head outside.

Grammy turned to Bailey and smiled. "So, are you ready for today?"

Bailey smiled back. "More than. I just wish it was already six o'clock..."

"It'll get here soon enough."

"I hope so."

"Well, just remember. This time tomorrow, you and your husband will be flying off towards Hawaii." She grinned. "And if you get him in a grass skirt hula dancing, I want pictures..."

Bailey laughed. "I'll see what I can do, but will you be posting that one around too?"

Grammy laughed too. "Sweetheart, I have no idea what you're talking about..."

At that moment, Clyde came back inside the kitchen. "There's a large truck outside full of chairs and other things. Looks like they're already here ready to start setting up."

"Its starting..."

Bailey smiled. "I know..." She paused. "I wonder how Cody is doing this morning?"

About that time, over at the Grand Kansan, Zack and Maya has been knocking on the door to Cody's room for about ten minutes, but they were getting no answer. They looked at each other beginning to get concerned when Cody came up the hallway in a t-shirt, shorts and sweating profusely. Zack rolled his eyes.

"Where have you been?"

Cody shrugged. "I woke up about an hour ago with so much energy, I was bouncing off the walls. So, I decided to go for a run to burn some of it off."

Zack shook his head. "Well, for a change, we're supposed to make sure you are fed this morning. So, hurry up and get changed."

"Alright, let me grab a quick shower, and I'll meet you downstairs."

Twenty minutes later, the three of them entered the restaurant next door to the hotel and sat down, and after ordering their breakfasts, Maya turned to Cody.

"So, how are you doing this morning?"

Cody smiled. "I feel great. I'm getting married in less than nine hours."

"Are you nervous?"

He shook his head. "No, not nervous. Anxious, yes, but not nervous." He laughed. "But I was plenty nervous on the night I proposed to make up for it."

"Oh yeah? How nervous were you?"

"Well, when we were dancing, Bailey said she could barely wrap her arms around my neck because it was so sweaty. And then she said my hands were so sweaty, I was causing the waist of her dress to get wet."

Maya laughed. "Wow..."

Zack sighed. "Great. Thanks for letting me know what I have to look forward to."

Cody grinned. "Maybe, but you'll also have what I'm feeling today to look forward to too. I'm just wondering what I'm going to do to pass the time until its time to head over for the pictures..."

Zack grinned back. "Already taken care of. I brought our video game system with me. I figured a morning of killing aliens and defending the universe should get your mind off of things for a while..."

Maya just shook her head. "Boys and their toys..."

"It may be a toy, but I'm looking at it like I'm doing a public service. I'm helping to keep the groom calm, cool and distracted..."

She smirked at him. "Speaking of helping the groom, do you know where the rings are?"

Zack grinned. "No, I don't...but they haven't been given to me yet..."

Cody nodded. "Its true. We figured the less time he had to keep up with them, the better."

Maya laughed. "Probably a good idea..."

For the rest of the morning, their families did the best to keep Cody and Bailey busy and distracted as best they could. At eleven o'clock that morning, the stylist London had hired arrived at the hotel to cut and style everyone's hair. And when she was done, Carey and Maya followed her back to the farm with their dresses in tow. When they got to the farm, Bailey saw them and immediately wanted to know how Cody was doing. They just smiled and said that he was anxious and said he couldn't wait to marry her. And for better or worse, Zack was in charge of keeping him busy. Bailey just smiled, but that's all she had time to do as it was her turn with the stylist.

As it got close to two o'clock, everyone on the farm had their hair cut and styled as well. With it getting closer and closer to picture time, Bailey began to get dressed. But as she did, the ladies around her had a few things for her. And her Grammy went first.

"Bailey, this string of pearls has been in our family for generations. Every woman in our family who has gotten married has worn them. I hope you will too and count it as your something old."

Bailey smiled. "Grammy, I'd be honored to wear them. Thank you."

Next up was Eunice. "And Bailey, every woman in our family has gotten her own pair of pearl earrings for her wedding to match the string of pearls. These are yours, and I hope they will count as your something new."

Bailey smiled again. "Thank you, Momma. I love them."

Next was Carey. "Your new family has some traditions of its own. This bracelet was one of the few things my great-great-great grandmother was able to grab and hold on to when she fled to come to America. Since then, its something the women in my family have worn with pride on their wedding days, and I hope you will too. I wore it just a couple of months ago on mine."

Bailey smiled yet again. "I'd be proud to wear it as the newest woman in the family."

Carey smiled back. "I hope you will count it as your something borrowed. I'm kind of hoping it will be needed again soon..."

Both looked over at Maya who was blushing and looking away. Bailey laughed. "We'll have to see what we can do to make that happen."

Maya just shook her head. "Thanks...I think. Anyways, that leaves me with something for you to count as your something blue. I hope this will do the job." Maya handed Bailey a small bag that she opened.

Bailey laughed when she pulled out a blue garter. "I think this will be perfect." She turned to Carey and grinned. "Should I tell Cody where to aim this?"

Carey laughed too. "He's already been instructed who to aim it at, but you telling him again wouldn't hurt..."

Everyone laughed as Maya blushed again. But then it was really time for everyone to get ready. And when Bailey walked out in her wedding dress, everyone oohed and ahhed. She looked absolutely stunning. The dress was mostly white silk with straps and very tasteful, ornate designs on it. Just like the ring Cody had picked out, it was simple yet elegant. And it came down to her ankles, so the risk of grass stain had been diminished.

Grammy grinned. "You look beautiful, Honey."

Carey nodded. "Definitely. You might leave Cody speechless."

Bailey laughed. "As long as he can get out an 'I do', I can handle that."

At 3:00, Bailey and her family had their pictures taken around the new gazebo. And while they did that, the guys over at the Grand Kansan were finishing getting ready. With the day looking to be a real scorcher, Cody and Zack handed Arwin and Kurt the bottle of baby powder and told them to just trust them. By 3:30, they guys were all dressed and ready to go. While Kurt, Arwin and Zack all had on black tuxedos with black vests and black ties, Cody's was a little different. His vest and his tie were white and his boutonniere was a white flower while the others were red to match Eunice's dress. And at 3:45, they all headed over to the farm for the pictures of the groom and his family.

By 5:00, all of the preliminary pictures were done, and it was time to wait for the guests to arrive. The ladies were all in the house waiting while the guys were relegated to waiting out things in the storm shelter. At least it was cool down there or else they might have all passed out. And as they were waiting, Cody remembered something important, and he sent Arwin in the house to do him a favor.

When Arwin knocked on the door, he was told to come in.

"Ummm...I don't mean to interrupt, but Cody said Grammy Pickett had something special for him to wear today..."

Grammy shook her head. "I can't believe I almost forgot." She stood up. "I'll get them so you can take them back out to him."

When she came back, Bailey looked up at her. "What was that about, Grammy?"

"Well, lets just say that brides in our family aren't the only ones with heirlooms to wear. And what I gave Cody to wear may be the most important ones. They're our family's good luck charms for long and happy marriages."

Bailey smiled. "I'm glad he remembered them then..."

As 5:30, the wedding guests began filling into the seats. And as they did, it was getting closer and closer to showtime. As the clock approached 6:00, Grammy, Carey, Maya, Arwin, Kurt and Sandy all left the bride and groom to go take their seats. And at five minutes until 6:00, the preacher came and got Cody and Zack as it was time for them to take their places. As the musical quartet began playing a new piece, Cody and Zack made their way down the aisle to take their places on the gazebo next to the preacher. And with another new piece beginning, one of Bailey's nieces made her way down the aisle as the flower girl. And a minute behind her, Eunice made her way down the aisle as well taking her place on the opposite side of the gazebo.

With her in place, the wedding march began. Clyde and Bailey appeared at the end of the aisle, and the whole crowd stood up to greet her arrival. When Cody saw Bailey in her wedding dress, his heart began pounding hard. He always knew she was beautiful, but today she looked absolutely gorgeous. And like he had predicted, his mouth hung open in awe. Seeing him do that, Bailey couldn't help but smile. And she couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked in his tuxedo. She just thought to herself that her soon to be hubby just knew how to wear a tux. Clyde and Bailey began their way down the aisle until they met Cody at the base of the gazebo. And when Clyde put Bailey's hand in Cody's, the preacher finally spoke.

"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

Clyde smiled. "Her mother and I do happily." And with that, Clyde took his seat next to Grammy Pickett as Cody and Bailey climbed the couple of steps of the gazebo hand in hand.

The preacher continued. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join together Bailey and Cody who have decided to commit themselves to each other for the rest of their lives. I have had the honor and privilege to know Bailey her whole life, and I've gotten to know Cody pretty well over the past few years as well. Standing before me are two young people with good heads, good hearts and an unending love for each other. We're here today to cement that bond between them as they willingly enter into holy matrimony with each other. A good marriage is one in which there is total respect, complete trust and utmost devotion between the two people in it. And I think everyone here can agree with me that these two have that in spades."

The crown nodded. "Amen."

The preacher turned to Cody and Bailey. "I charge and require you both to remember that today is the most sacred day in your lives. Its the day that you promise, before God and man, that you will do your best to be everything the other needs and will encourage and support them in all things. Always remember that while your love for each other is pure, that you are both human and therefore not perfect. Don't disparage each's imperfections but instead cherish them. After all, its those imperfections that makes each of you who you are, and who you are is who the other has chosen to spend your life with. In many ways, you both share the same goals, dreams and aspirations, but always remember that while you will become one entity, it is an entity comprised of two unique individuals"

Cody and Bailey looked at each other and nodded.

"Please take each other's hands in your own."

Bailey handed her bouquet to her Mom and turned to face Cody. Both had the brightest smiles for the each other as they clutched each other's hands.

"Cody, do you take Bailey to be your wedded wife, and in the presence of these witnesses do you vow that you will do everything in your power to make your love for her a growing part of your life? Will you continue to strengthen it from day to day and week to week to the best of your ability? Will you stand by her in sickness or in health, for richer or for poorer, and be faithful to her and her alone for as long as you both shall live?"

Cody just smiled even brighter. "I do."

"Bailey, do you take Cody to be your wedded husband, and in the presence of these witnesses do you vow that you will do everything in your power to make your love for him a growing part of your life? Will you continue to strengthen it from day to day and week to week to the best of your ability? Will you stand by him in sickness or in health, for richer or for poorer, and be faithful to him and him alone for as long as you both shall live?"

Bailey returned Cody's smile and nodded. "I do."

The preacher continued. "And now, Cody and Bailey would like to say something to each other in their own words. Cody, will you go first?"

Cody nodded and turn to look into Bailey's eyes. "I don't know if there are adequate words to describe how I'm feeling today or how much it is that I love you, but today of all days, I have to try. I think someone or something was smiling down on me that first day of college when the Yale shuttle driver dropped you off right outside of my dorm room. And I want to thank whoever it was for doing that because that one simple act changed my life forever. Because, thanks to them, I met my best friend, my soulmate and the love of my life. Bails, I consider myself the luckiest man in the world because you have chose me to spend your life with. I know I'm not perfect, but I can promise you I will love you with every breath I take for the rest of my life. I don't know what our future holds, but I'm ready to see where it takes us because I'll have you by my side. I know the old saying is kind of corny, but then again, so am I. You truly are my better half. I love you, Bails...I just love you."

The preacher smiled and turned to Bailey. "Bailey?"

Bailey nodded and turned to look into Cody's eyes. She had tears in her own as she began speaking. "If you ever find out who caused that shuttle driver to drop me off outside of your room, I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart too. Because I too met my best friend, my soulmate and the love of my life. And I got a whole lot more too. I got the one person I can be myself with totally and embraces me for being me. You know exactly who I am with all of my quirks and insecurities and love me all the more for them. I said it the first day I met you and its even more true today. You are my knight in shining armor and my prince charming all rolled into one. And I will love you with every breath I take for the rest of my life too. I don't know what our future holds either, but I know as long as you are there with me, it will be nothing we can't handle. I'm ready to start this new adventure in life with you. Because Cody, you are my life."

The preacher turned to Zack. "May I have the rings?"

Zack reached into his pocket and handed them to the preacher.

"From the earliest of times the circle of a wedding band has been a symbol of wedded love. Being one unbroken circle, your rings symbolize your unending love for each other. May your rings be a constant reminder of this to you and to the whole world of the bond you two share. Cody, place this ring on Bailey's left ring finger."

Cody slid the ring on to Bailey's finger. "I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you. Let it be a reminder that I am always by your side and that I will always be a faithful partner to you. As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my wife today and for the rest of our lives."

"Bailey, place this ring on Cody's left ring finger."

Bailey slid the ring on to Cody's finger. "I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you. Let it be a reminder that I am always by your side and that I will always be a faithful partner to you. As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my husband today and for the rest of our lives."

"For as much as Bailey and Cody have consented together this day to enter into holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and these witnesses, and have pledged their faithfulness to each other, and have pledged the same by the giving and receiving of rings, by the authority invested in me by the state of Kansas and the Almighty Lord above, I now pronounce them husband and wife. May those that God has joined together, let no man put assunder."

The preacher turned to Cody and Bailey and smiled. "Cody...You may kiss your bride!"

Cody grinned at him before turning back to Bailey. He lifted her veil and leaned into give her a gentle yet passionate kiss. And as he did that, the wedding guests stood up and cheered.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now my privilege to introduce for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Cody and Bailey Martin..."

Cody and Bailey turned and smiled at everyone as the recessional music began to play. Hand in hand, they walked back down the aisle and over to where Mary was standing. As soon as Zack and Eunice joined them, she had them take care of a few things by signing them. The first being their marriage license and then the documents Bailey would need to petition the court to change her name legally to Bailey Martin. Once that was done, they were lead to a hidden spot to allow the guests to exit and head for the Grand Kansan.

Once the guests had all left to head for the reception, the final pictures were taken with Cody and Bailey together and then with all of the families. And once those were finished, it was time for them to head off to the reception themselves. Once they got to the banquet hall inside the hotel, Zack and Eunice were announced first. And then Cody and Bailey got another round of applause as they made their way into the reception. As they took their seats at the head table, everyone else sat down and waiters began bringing in the reception meal that Chef Paulo had crafted.

As they waited, Cody leaned over to Bailey and whispered.

"Have I mentioned yet how beautiful you look tonight?"

She smiled back at him. "I believe you just did. And looking pretty handome yourself...Hubby."

He laughed. "Thank you...Wife."

"I love the sound of that."

"Me too."

After dinner was served, everyone's attention was caught by Eunice clinking her fork against her glass. And once everyone turned to face her, she began speaking.

"I have the pleasure to speak to you tonight not only as the maid of honor but also as the mother of the bride. I don't know about anyone else here, but I've known this day was coming for a long, long time. You see, when Bailey first left for Yale, I was like a lot of mothers and worried about how she would adjust to living so far away from home. And her first day, my fears were confirmed when she told me about being abandoned with all of her things and not knowing what she was going to do. But then she told me about this blonde young man who came to her rescue. When I first heard about Cody, I was was thankful for him helping my daughter. But that's when things began to get interesting. There wasn't a single phone call or e-mail from then on from Bailey that didn't mention Cody in one way or another. Needless to say, after hearing so much about him, I couldn't wait to finally meet him myself." She laughed. "And lets just say when I did, he lived up to everything Bailey had told me about him. But there was a problem. I know you all heard them speaking earlier about how they feel about each other, but back then, they were too stubborn to admit how they really felt. So that's when Cody's mother, Carey and I set up a little plan to make them. And since we're here today, I guess it worked."

She turned to Cody and Bailey. "And boy am I ever glad it did. I've never seen my daughter happier than when she's with Cody, and I can tell she is just about to burst at the seems today. And Cody, I'm now proud to be able to call you my son-in-law. Besides making my daughter so happy, you've given me someone who will tinker around in the kitchen with me. I couldn't have picked anyone better for my Bailey than you. Now, Carey and I have talked and we both know you two are about to begin medical school, so we've agreed we won't start pushing for grandchildren until after you finish. But once you graduate, all bets are off. So, if everyone will raise their glasses, I'd like to toast my daughter and son-in-law. Congratulations to you both because you both deserve each other."

After everyone toasted them, Zack took his turn and stood up.

"In case everyone doesn't know me, I'm Zack Martin, Cody's twin brother. I've known Cody all the way back to the time we spent in our mother's womb together. So, suffice it to say, I know him pretty well. All our lives, I've viewed it as my role as the older brother to look out for him. In my book, I was the only one who got to torment him. Now, I could stand here and tell you a lot of stories about him growing up, but since he knows even more about me, I won't do that. A story I will tell you is the first Thanksgiving he came back home from college. That was also the first time I met Bailey. And from the beginning, it was obvious to me that there was something there between them even though my brother wouldn't admit it. Well, while they were there, they went on a fake double date with my now girlfriend Maya. And believe me, even though I knew better, I could have sworn they were a real couple then. And that's when I told the Codester to go for it. Well, he did and today, I now have a sister."

He turned to Cody and Bailey. "Bailey, welcome to the family. You've willingly hung around my brother for over three years and just married him. I don't know how you've done it or put up with him, but you have my thanks. I've never seen my brother happier than when he's with you. You bring out a sense of self confidence and inner peace in him that wasn't there before. I'm still not sure I like that though as he's begun to ignore me when I give him a hard time. But, I know he is genuinely happy, and I have you to thank for that. Like I said, I've always viewed it as my job to take care of him. Well, the job is yours now. I guess it has been for a while now. Take care of him for me, and if he gives you any trouble, just let me know. Cody...you're married now. I shouldn't be surprised though. You've always had the girls drawn to you, but you just never noticed before. But maybe you were just waiting for the right one though. And I know you have that now. So, you better take good care of her. Because, Bro...there's no way you can do any better..."

He turned back to the crown. "So, will everyone raise their glasses and join me in toasting my brother and my new sister?"

After everyone toasted Cody and Bailey again, Zack kept speaking. "Alright, its time for their first dance as man and wife. And while it will be the first time they dance as man and wife, it won't be their first time dancing to this song..."

Cody and Bailey stood up and walked hand in hand to the dance floor. And as they got there, those familiar chords began playing again. Once again, Elvis began singing that same song he did when they danced together on their first Valentine's Day together. And as they danced, they leaned in and shared kisses with each other.

Bailey grinned. "Well, we must really be fools then because we've definitely rushed in now..."

Cody laughed. "I guess so, but I still can't help falling in love with you..."

As they finished their first dance as husband and wife, their wedding cake was wheeled out of the kitchen. And it was absolutely gorgeous. If it tasted half as good as it looked, everyone would be in for a real treat. Of course, Cody and Bailey cut the first piece together and gave into to the old cliché of rubbing it into each other's faces. But neither had a problem licking and kissing the frosting off of the other as they received catcalls from their guests.

Once the cake was cut up and served, it was time for the mother/son and father/daughter dances. So, while Bailey danced with Clyde, Cody danced with Carey. And once those finished, the dance floor was opened up for everyone to get their groove on. As the reception was in full swing, Cody and Bailey made the rounds to talk to and thank all of their guests for coming.

Towards the end of the night, Cody was sitting in his seat with Bailey sitting on his lap. She leaned in and whispered to him.

"Think people would mind if we called it a night and headed up to the honeymoon suite? Its almost midnight, and we fly out of Kettlepot at six o'clock tomorrow morning..."

Cody smiled. "I don't think they will. I don't think they would begrudge us leaving them. Besides, the open bar is still open."

Bailey smiled back. "Lets say our goodbyes then..."

Both stood up and grabbed the microphone laying on the table. They tapped it a few times to get everyone's attention. And when everyone turned to look at them, Bailey began speaking.

"Cody and I would like to thank you all for coming to celebrate our wedding with us today. We'd also like to thank our families and friends who made all of today possible...whether it was this week or almost four years ago."

Cody spoke up. "We both feel incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends and families."

"And we will do our best to make all of you proud as we continue on to medical school. If anyone is ever passing through New Haven, our home will be open to you."

Cody spoke up again and smiled. "But if we both reek of formaldehyde, you all have been forewarned right now."

Everyone laughed at that and Bailey continued. "As you've probably heard, we have an early flight out in the morning, so we are going to call it a night shortly. But we want everyone to stay and celebrate as long as you want. People who know us already know that Cody and I are not night owls. But before we do leave, we have a couple of things left to do. So, will all single ladies please gather on to the dance floor? Someone's about to catch my bouquet."

All of the girls did, but the main competition was Maya, Monica, Tut and Bailey's sisters. When Bailey tossed it over her shoulders, everyone made a grab for it. But Maya boxed everyone out and came away with it. As she held it high and grinned, Zack hung his head. Cody just patted him on the back and told him it would be okay.

Then Cody took the microphone. "Alright single guys, you're turn...That means you, Broseph."

A chair was brought out, and Cody reached under Bailey's dress to slowly slide off her garter. All the while, he was receiving catcalls, and when he finished, he received a kiss from his wife. He turned and pulled the garter back like a rubber band. Alternating back and forth, he aimed right for his brother and shot it. And it was a direct hit and landed in Zack's hands. Cody just grinned and said Zack shouldn't have shown him how to shoot a rubber band so well when they were younger.

With those tasks now out of the way, it was time for Cody and Bailey to make their exit. And as they did, people actually through rice at them as they exited the ballroom. As they were indoors, they figured they were safe from exploding birds. Making their way to the top floor of the hotel, Cody opened the door and turned back to Bailey and smiled.

"Time to carry my bride across the threshold."

She just grinned as Cody picked her up in his arms and carried her inside. Walking over to the bed, her carefully sat her down.

"Well, Mrs. Martin...you're stuck with me now..."

"Well, Mr. Martin..." She leaned up and kissed him. "I'm exactly where I want to be."

He grinned. "In a hotel with a flight out in less than six hours?"

She grinned back. "I'm in the bridal suite with my husband on my wedding day with my flight to leave for my honeymoon in Hawaii in less than six hours. Big difference."

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too."

Cody smiled. "Today was the first day of the rest of our lives. I can't wait to go through life with you..."

Bailey smiled back. "I can't wait to go through life with you either. But right now, we have other things to focus on...like this being our wedding night."

"Is our self-imposed wait over?"

"Uh huh..."

Cody grinned. "Well then...What are we waiting for then?"

__To be Continued...__


	81. Aloha Means Hello

_Chapter 81_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Four thirty the next morning came awfully early to the newlyweds. In fact, when their wake up call came, Cody and Bailey had only been asleep for a couple of hours. And it was a struggle for them to initially get out of bed as their bodies were telling them there was not a good enough reason to leave the confines of their warm, comfortable bed. But their minds were working well enough to overrule their bodies. Eunice would be there in forty-five minutes to pick them up to take them to the airport in Kettlepot, so they had to get moving. Deciding to save time, they shared their shower, but with them both still being half asleep, getting cleaned up was all they did.

Fortunately, the hot water gave them both the jolt they needed so they could think semi-clearly. And once they were dressed, they enclosed their tuxedo and wedding dress from the night before in garment bags. They had already decided Carey would take them back to Boston where they would both be sealed in airtight bags to preserve them. So, a little after five, the headed downstairs and left the garment bags with the hotel's night manager. And at that time, Eunice walked in the front door and smiled at them.

"Good...You're both up. I thought I might have to drag you out of bed myselves."

Bailey sighed. "We're awake for the time being anyways..."

Eunice took a good look at her daughter and new son-in-law. Both were in shorts and flip flops while Bailey wore a tank top to Cody's t-shirt. And both were looking absolutely exhausted.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane. Are you two ready to go?"

Both nodded and followed her out to the family truck. They put their bags in the bed of the truck before climbing into the cab with Eunice. They weren't even out of town before both had their eyes closed again and Bailey was leaning against Cody's shoulder. Eunice just smiled as she saw Cody instinctively wrap his arm around Bailey, and they began snoring again. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the Kettlepot airport, and Eunice shook them both awake again. They gathered their bags and headed inside to go through security. Normally, a person would give themselves more than a half hour to get through security, but this was the Kettlepot airport at 5:30 on a Sunday morning. To say it was empty would be an understatement.

While they waited for the plane to finish fueling up, Eunice talked to them both to try to get them more alert.

"So, do you know what your plan from here is?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah. The plane will take us to Dallas DFW, and we'll land there about 7:30 in the morning. From there, we have an hour and a half until our flight to Maui's Kahului airport. And from there, an airport shuttle will pick us up to take us to our all inclusive resort in Wailea."

Cody began laughing. "We're relying on an airport shuttle...how fitting."

Bailey laughed too. "Tell me about it..."

Eunice just shook her head. "So, the Tipton jet isn't taking you all the way there?"

Cody shook his head. "Nah. Its going to be busy today. Once it drops us off, it'll head back immediately to here where its supposed to pick up Dad, Sandy, Moseby, Tut and others to take them to Kansas City where they will catch connecting flights out to where they need to go. Then the plane will come back here again to pick up everyone heading back to Boston later."

Eunice nodded. "That makes sense. How long will your flight from Dallas to Maui be?"

"Eight hours."

Bailey yawned. "Eight hours. Sounds like a perfect time for us to catch up on sleep..."

Eunice laughed. "Sounds like you two need it."

At that time, Cody and Bailey heard their names called and that the plane was ready to be boarded. And of course, everyone couldn't miss that they had been called 'Bailey and Cody Martin'. They all stood up, and Eunice hugged them both.

"Well, you two have fun on your honeymoon." She grinned. "And try to actually leave your room from time to time..."

Bailey's eyes went wide. "Momma!"

She laughed. "Bailey...I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night. You're a married woman now, so what you and your husband do on your honeymoon is none of my business. Just have a good time you two, and good luck starting medical school when you get back."

"Thank you, Momma."

Eunice turned to Cody. "And you take good care of my...of your wife, you hear me?"

Cody smiled. "I will...Momma."

Eunice hugged him again tightly and kissed his cheek. "I always knew I liked you...Son." She hugged Bailey again too. "And you better take good care of my boy here too, you hear me?"

Bailey smiled. "Count on it."

"Alright. You two go on and get out of here. We'll see you two again soon." She smiled. "Aloha."

Both smiled back at her. "Aloha..."

Cody and Bailey boarded the Tipton jet and buckled themselves into the couch in the plane's cabin. And both were asleep again before the plane even took off. The next thing either one of them knew, they were being shaken awake once again. And both opened their eyes in confusion though feeling more refreshed after more sleep.

"Do we need to wake up before take off?"

The flight attendant smiled. "Actually, we've already landed in Dallas, Mr. Martin. We're taxiing to your gate right now."

Cody and Bailey looked at each other in surprise. Right then, they both fully understood how London had slept through everything on their flight with her down to Nassau several years before. But, the extra sleep had done wonders for them both, and they almost felt like their usual selves. Departing the plane, they grabbed their carry on bags and began making their way to the gate for their flight to Maui. And when they got there, they checked in with the lady working the gate.

"Can I help you?"

Bailey smiled. "Yes, we're supposed to check in with you and get our boarding passes."

"Certainly. Can I have your names and see some ID?"

"I'm Bailey Martin, and this is my husband, Cody. Though you may have me listed under Bailey Pickett..."

The lady smiled. "Recently married?"

Bailey grinned back at her. "About thirteen hours now..."

"Oh...heading off on your honeymoon then, huh?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, we left Kansas at six this morning and on our way to Hawaii."

The lady smiled again. "Congratulations then. Please, feel free to use our members lounge while you wait to board." She turned and clicked away at her computer. When the boarding passes printed out, she handed them to them. "You're in seats 6A and 6B. Congratulations again on your wedding and have fun in Hawaii."

Cody took the boarding passes and put them in the side pocket of his cargo shorts. And then they did what they were told and went to enjoy the members lounge. Both gladly took a complimentary cappuccino and muffin and sat back in big comfortable leather chairs to wait to board.

"Feeling better now?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah. That nap on the plane ride here really helped. You?"

"Same here. Though, I do reserve the right to take another one on the next leg of our trip."

"Me too. I hope our seats our comfortable enough to allow that. I think flying on the Tipton jet has spoiled me."

Cody grinned. "Spoiling you is supposed to be my job."

Bailey grinned back. "You do...and you do so wonderfully..."

"Speaking of which, sounds like we have a window seat. Do you want it?"

"I would love it. Sure you don't mind?"

"Of course I don't mind."

She leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you. I love you."

"Love you too."

An hour later, an announcement was made that their flight was about to begin boarding. And neither one gave a second thought when they announced that all passengers with a disability, small children and the first six rows could begin boarding. But once they got on the plane and saw their seats, both were in shock.

"Cody...our seats our in first class!"

"Wow..."

Bailey grinned. "I think we'll be able to sleep comfortably..."

Cody just laughed. The stowed their carry-on bags (their backpacks) under their seats and sat back in the large leather seats and relaxed. And as they were waiting for the rest of the passengers to board, a flight attendant asked if they would be interested in a complimentary mimosa. Both just looked at the other and shrugged. So, while the rest of the passengers were cramming themselves into their coach seats, Cody and Bailey were comfortable in theirs sipping on orange juice and champagne.

Twenty minutes later, the plane barreled down the runway and took off into the sky on its way southwest. After another mimosa and a delicious first class breakfast, both felt another nap coming on. So, laying their seats all the way back, they snuggled together and fell asleep. A few hours later, they both woke up then feeling fully refreshed and rested. It may have taken them three tries to do it, but they then fully had their usual seven hours of sleep. And when they woke up, they raised their seats and looked out the window. And all they could see was clouds with the occasional glimpse of the Pacific Ocean below them.

After a delicious lunch and watching a movie together on their own flatscreen, they were closer to landing in Maui. And a little after noon local time, they did finally land. Another perk of being in first class was that they got to depart the plane first. And they were surprised to see that TV was telling the truth when that they actually did get leis put around their necks as they entered the terminal. Forty-five minutes later, they had their bags and were on the shuttle to their resort. But this airport shuttle dropped them off right at the front door of the hotel and bellhops were there to gather their bags for them.

After checking in, the bellhop helped them take their bags up to their room on the top floor. They should have known their room would be nice when they had to use a private elevator to get to it. And their room was even more amazing then they could have imagined. It was decorated in Polynesian themes and was palatial. The master bedroom was huge with a king sized bed and its own sitting area. Off of it was a grand bathroom with a tub big enough to fit a basketball team. But the thing that really drew their attention was their private lanai with its own hot tub and wading pool. This little garden had a beautiful view of the ocean and surrounding islands. But the best quality was how private it was. If they were out on it, no one could see them there.

Cody tipped the bellhop, and they just continued walking around their room.

"Cody...this is amazing!"

He smiled. "Yeah, it is." He paused and gave her a look. "You realize what we can do here on our private lanai that we wouldn't do in St. Maarten with everyone around?"

Bailey paused to think and then she remembered. She smiled. "I do remember, and I think that's something we'll have to try at some point. But right now, after we've been on a plane all day, I think I'd like to take another bath. Care to join me?"

"I would love that. First, why don't we figure out what we want to do today? Plus, we might want to do what we usually do on the ship and go ahead and make reservations for the restaurants we want to dine in later."

"Good idea. And we can go ahead and reserve any excursions we want to do as well."

Cody grinned. "Not too many though. I want to spend as much time alone with you as I can..."

Bailey grinned back. "I promise you. We will be doing plenty of that. I'm thinking of the excursions as our times to recuperate..."

So, they spent the next hour planning and making reservations for things they wanted to do. But then it was time for tub time together. They took their time getting cleaned up and just being newlyweds. They had planned on hitting the beach that afternoon, but neither minded when they decided to put that off till the next day.

Later that evening, both finally got cleaned up for real and dressed to head to dinner. Before they did though, they walked out onto their lanai to watch the sunset. Cody stood behind Bailey and wrapped his arms around her as they both just took in the sun setting.

"Cody, its so gorgeous here. Isn't Hawaii the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"

He leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Second most beautiful..."

__To be Continued...__


	82. Aloha Also Means Goodbye

_Chapter 82_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Hawaii was indeed beautiful, and by their third day at the resort, they finally ventured out of their room to enjoy it. It was like Bailey had said...they needed time to recover. But laying back in chaise lounges on the white sand beaches sipping on cold beverages was just what the doctor ordered. They were ready to actually see what Hawaii had to offer, so they spent the afternoon snorkeling and learning to surf. And they were both immensely enjoying the local cuisine. But like most honeymooners, the times they spent outside of their room grew fewer and far between. And like Maya and Bailey's sisters had said, Cody very much liked the gifts they had given Bailey.

And like Cody had suggested, they did use their private lanai several times. They saw it as the best of both worlds as they were able to get sun and be alone. And as they lounged out there one afternoon, Bailey turned to Cody and laughed.

"You know...for the first time in my life, I won't have any tan lines..."

He laughed too. "Me either. And while I'm enjoying being here like this with you, I think I'll have to pass if we run into any more nude beaches..."

She nodded. "Agreed. This is fun, but this view is for your eyes only."

Cody teased her. "It better be!"

"Of course it is...Just like my view better be for my eyes only too."

"Not doubt about that..." He grinned. "But I'm going to enjoy this while I can..."

"Me too..." She paused and grinned back at him. "Speaking of firsts in my life..."

Cody lowered his sunglasses and looked at her. "Are you thinking what I hope you're thinking?"

"I think I am..."

"I think I love you even more if its somehow possible..."

And before they knew it, they had already spent a week in Hawaii, and it was the following Sunday. They had come back in from the beach and showered again before lounging around before dinner. Both headed back on to the lanai to curl up on a lounge chair to enjoy the breeze that was coming in off of the ocean.

"Codykins...have we really been here a week already?"

Cody nodded. "I think so, Bails. Or else they had their Sunday brunch on the wrong day."

Bailey laughed. "Good point."

"But the good news is that we don't fly out until Wednesday morning. So, we still have two full days left."

She nodded. "Yeah...Cody?"

"Yes, Sweetie?"

"We're going to have to come back here again some day so we can actually see the things we normally would want to see..."

"Agreed..." He grinned. "Though, what I have seen this week is what I've wanted to see the most..."

Bailey just laughed again. "You're incorrigible..."

Cody lifted her hand up to kiss it. "Maybe, but I like to think of it as I'm hopelessly in both love and lust with my wife. I will never apologize or feel bad for that."

She smiled. "I feel the same away about my husband..."

"And we're on our honeymoon. We're not your average tourists. People expect us to be all lovey dovey and unable to keep our hands off each other..."

"I guess you're right...and we have definitely been unable to do that..."

"You aren't hearing me complain one bit."

Bailey paused. "Cody, I love being here like this with you. But in a few days, we have to go back to the real world and get ready to start medical school. It won't always be like this..."

He looked down at her. "Sure it will. Bails, our honeymoon isn't over until we say its over. Sure, in a few days, we'll have to leave here and become responsible adults again. But, we did that for four years in college too. Maybe it was just me, but I thought we did a pretty good job of making sure we still made plenty of time for romance."

She looked up at him and smiled. "I think we did too. And you're right. It won't be over until we say its over. And you were right about us doing a great job of making plenty of time for romance. I have confidence we'll continue to do that."

He grinned. "Wow, we're married and you just told me twice in a row I was right about something. That must be some kind of record..."

"Cody!"

He pulled her into his arms. "Just teasing you, Sweetie. And you're right too, we'll continue to do that. And if you ever think I'm getting lax about romancing you, tell me. I assure you it will never be my intention."

"I know..."

He grinned. "But...since we still are on our real honeymoon here in paradise. I say we take advantage of the time we have left."

She grinned back. "Me too. Shall we cancel our dinner reservations?"

"Uh huh. We'll call for room service later." He began kissing her neck. "Right now, I'm hungry for something else..."

On Monday, they did leave the room again finally because they realized they needed to pick up souvenirs for everyone from their trip. Plus, they had reservations for a luau on the beach that evening. And before the pig was dug up, there were hula dances with lessons and both of them finally donned a grass skirt. Naturally, Bailey made sure there was a picture taken of them in the grass skirts to show everyone back home. Of course, in exchange for agreeing to do that, Cody was able to talk Bailey into buying a coconut bra. She told him not to get used to her wearing it though.

Tuesday was their final full day in Maui. Being them, they went ahead and packed up most of their things so they wouldn't be in a rush the next morning. And since they didn't want to have to deal with getting their swimsuits wet again and hope they dried by the time they left, they spent most of the day on their lanai. They continued working on their tans, swimming in the wading pool and relaxing in the hot tub.

That night, they went to dinner at restaurant in the hotel they had waited all week to get into. Since it was a restaurant by Wolfgang Puck, there was quite the waiting list and it was one reservation they weren't going to cancel. But both wanted to try it to see how good the food really was, and neither was disappointed. Once dinner was over, they went for a walk on the beach before returning to their room to enjoy their last night.

On Wednesday morning, they were up at eight AM and showered, dressed and packed up by nine o'clock. They enjoyed the breakfast buffet one last time before checking out. And at ten AM, they were indeed checked out and on the airport shuttle back to the airport. Their flight out wasn't scheduled to depart until about 12:30 PM, but they wanted to give themselves plenty of time to get through security. This wasn't the Kettlepot airport they were using this time.

Eventually, they boarded their plane, and they discovered they were once again in first class. Neither was going to complain, but they didn't think they would be sleeping much this time. But, they were fed lunch and dinner and got to watch a couple of movies they had missed the first time in the theaters. Instead of Dallas though, their layover destination coming back was going to be Seattle, so their flight was only a little over six hours. And a little bit after nine in the evening PST, they landed in the Emerald City.

Since they had over three hours to waste until their flight for Boston departed, they just walked around the airport some to look around.

"So...this is where you were born, huh?"

Cody smiled at her. "Yeah. St. Joseph's Hospital. We're probably not too far from it right now."

She smiled too. "You know, its kind of fitting our flight went through Seattle. We left from where I was born and stopped where you were born on the way back."

"Yeah, I guess so..."

"I must say...the first time I'm in Seattle, and its not raining." She laughed. "What a letdown..."

Cody laughed too. "It doesn't rain that much here despite public misconception."

"Should we be listening to some grunge music and wearing flannel shirts then?" She teased him. "How come you don't like grunge? I mean, you were born in Seattle in the early 90's to a father named Kurt. You should be heavily into grunge."

Cody just shook his head. "Did someone get too much sun in Hawaii?"

Bailey playfully swatted his shoulder. "Be nice to me. I'm your wife."

"I know. But if you really want to experience Seattle, follow me..."

Fifteen minutes later, Bailey was looking at the cup in her hand. "What is this again?"

"Forget that Starbucks stuff. Its been watered down for the masses. The stuff in your cup will knock your socks off..."

Bailey shrugged and took a drink. And her eyes almost rolled into the back of her head. "Wow..."

Cody laughed. "Told you..."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Ha ha..."

"Well, we'll need the caffeine boost anyways. Its not even ten o'clock here, but our bodies think its still seven o'clock back in Maui. So, we should probably want to grab some food here soon. But, its also almost one in the morning in Boston. And when we takeoff, it will be 12:30 here, so we're going to half to make ourselves get some sleep on the plane even though it will only feel like 9:30 to us while being 3:30 in Boston. But, when we land there, it will be 9:00 AM there, but to our bodies, it will be 3:00 in the morning..."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, today is really going to screw with our internal clocks. And its not like we get a chance to rest when we get back. We have to do laundry and pack up everything so we're ready to head back to New Haven on Friday morning. Fortunately, most of our new things will be delivered on Friday afternoon."

A couple of hours later, they finally boarded their plane and began the final leg of their journey back to Boston. And fortunately, they were able to sleep most of the way back. Five hours of sleep would be better than nothing. When they landed at Logan at a little after nine in the morning, they were very tired, but nowhere near as bad as they were when they began their honeymoon. And waiting to pick them up at the airport was Carey. And when she saw them at the baggage claim, she hugged them both and smiled.

"How was Hawaii?"

But Cody wasn't too tired to tease his mother. "Hawaii?" He turned to Bailey. "Is that where we were?" He shrugged. "I'm not sure because we never left the room..."

Carey just shook her head. "What happened to the deal we had where we kept our personal lives to ourselves?"

Bailey laughed. "Don't listen to him. It was very beautiful there, and we look forward to going back again someday."

"Good. Well, lets get you two back out to the car so I can hear all about it."

Cody and Bailey went to grab their bags, and he whispered to Bailey. "Not all of it..."

She just bit her tongue and did her best not to start laughing. After getting their bags and getting back to the hotel, they sank down into the couch ready to get some more rest. But Carey let them know real quick that wasn't going to happen.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you two have a few things you absolutely have to do today."

She handed them an envelope that they opened and saw several things inside.

"Inside is your marriage certificate as well as Bailey's order officially changing her name to Bailey Martin. Your Mom said the local judge signed off on it at the reception. It was entered into the court, and she mailed it to me last week. But with a name change, you have some things you need to do." Carey smiled. "But don't worry, I had to do all of this two months ago, so I have a list ready made for you. First off is the local social security office to get a new card in your new name."

Bailey nodded. "Okay, I can do that..."

"Do you have a credit card?"

"No, I don't. I don't like spending money I don't have."

Cody nodded. "Same here, but I have one for emergencies. I'll call to have them send us new cards in both our names."

Carey continued on with her list, and Bailey realized she was indeed going to be busy that day. She had to get a new drivers license as well as a few other things. And then there were the tasks she and Cody would have to do now that they were married. Fortunately, one of those tasks would be easier thanks to other documents in the envelope. Eunice had deposited Bailey's last paycheck into her checking account in Kettlecorn before closing it. Inside the manilla envelope was a cashier's check in her name for the amount. Also in side where their stipend checks from Yale as well as the checks for their cash prize they had one at graduation. So, they would have to go convert Cody's checking account into a joint one in both of their names.

So, even though they were still tired, they both got up off the couch and headed out to do what had to be done. And by the time they staggered back into the suite later that afternoon, they had done everything they had to do. But as they sank down into the couch again to rest, they looked over at their bags from their honeymoon and knew they still had more work to do. And fortunately, the hotel had numerous pay washers and dryers in the basement. So, at one point, they had ten different washers and then dryers going simultaneously.

By the time ten o'clock that evening arrived, all of their clothes had been washed, dried and packed back up. They had also finishing packing everything else they needed to take with them back to New Haven. The could barely keep their eyes open as they ate a quick dinner. But when they both finally sunk back on the couch for the third time that day, they both fell asleep immediately. Carey and Arwin both just shook their heads and laughed.

Not long after they fell asleep, Zack and Maya stopped by to see how the honeymoon had gone and when they should be ready to head out the next morning. But when they saw Cody and Bailey passed out on the couch, Zack just shook his head.

"How can they be tired? They just got back from a vacation..."

__To be Continued...__


	83. Moving Day

_Chapter 83_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Friday morning arrived, and Cody and Bailey woke up about seven in the morning still where they had passed out on the couch together. Waking up, they were both a little bit disoriented as they tried to remember what had happened the night before that lead them to be where they were. But looking around, they saw all of their bags and boxes stacked ready to head out. And then they remembered their day before.

"What time do you think we ended up passing out on the couch?"

Cody paused. "Last I remember, it was just before ten o'clock when we finally finished everything."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I remember that now too. And I remember being beyond exhausted."

"Me too. But I definitely prefer the exhaustion we had on our honeymoon over the kind from yesterday..."

She began to laugh but ended up yawning. "Me too, but I don't think today is going to be any easier on us. I remember helping Zack and Maya move in last month. It wasn't any fun at all."

"Unfortunately, I don't think it'll be any more fun this time. But, we might as well get started though. I'll go downstairs and grab us a couple of luggage carts." He leaned in and kissed Bailey. "Be right back, Bails."

While he did that, Bailey went to start a pot of coffee. For some reason, she was pretty sure they were going to need it. Ten minutes later, Cody returned with two luggage carts that they began loading. Fortunately, Arwin was going to let them borrow his tool van for the day, so they were going to have plenty of room for everything between it and their car. Of course, a lot of the room was going to be taken by all of their wedding gifts they still had yet to open. After loading the carts and downing a cup of coffee to give them a caffeine boost, they took the carts down to the garage to begin loading up the vehicles.

By nine o'clock, they had finished that, showered, changed clothes and were drinking more coffee. And that's when Zack and Maya showed up at the suite too. And when Zack walked in, he smirked at them.

"Well, well...if it isn't my brother and sister-in-law...Rip Van Winkle and Sleeping Beauty. You two were sawing enough logs when we showed up last night that we began to get worried about the rain forests."

Maya laughed. "He's right. You two were snoring away and dead to the world. Fortunately, Carey told us the plan was to leave at nine this morning."

Cody sighed. "We were exhausted. Local time, we left our resort on Wednesday at ten in the morning. And between then and last night, we only had about five hours sleep on our flight from Seattle back to Boston."

Zack smirked again. "Poor baby brother. Going to Hawaii must have been so rough on you..."

Maya ignored him and turned to Bailey. "So, how was Hawaii?"

Bailey smiled. "It was wonderful. We had the most amazing views and can't wait to go back again someday."

Maya turned to Zack. "That's code for the view from our room was nice, but we have to go back to see and do all of the things we missed because we hardly left the room."

Zack laughed. "I think you nailed it."

Cody shook his head. "Anyways, are you two ready to head out?"

"Yeah, but you're buying us breakfast on the way."

"Fine." Cody reached into his pocked for the keys to Arwin's van and was about to give them to Zack when he paused. "On second thought..." He handed them to Maya. "I trust her driving more with most of our valuables and wedding gifts in the back."

Three and a half hours later, after stopping at a McDonald's just across the Rhode Island state line for breakfast, they pulled in front of their new apartment in New Haven. And thanks to Bailey calling the graduate housing office on their way in, someone was there waiting for them with their lease to sign and their keys. With the lease signed, they unlocked the doors and immediately began unloading both vehicles. Between the four of them, that only took a half hour, and they made sure one person was always by the vehicles to make sure. And as soon as they were done unloading, Zack and Cody went to move the vehicles so they wouldn't be towed away or ticketed. As anyone who's been on a college campus knows, the tow companies will take your car away at the drop of a hat.

Once back inside, Zack looked around. "Okay, that was easy enough..."

Cody just looked at him. "Because we're still waiting for everything else to be delivered." He turned to Bailey. "Where do you think we should put the TV? We can go ahead and get it mounted."

Thirty minutes later, that was done which left them with nothing to do again.

Zack turned to his brother. "You know...I'd love to sit down and take a load off...but there's nowhere for me to sit..."

Cody sighed. "I know..." He checked his watch. "...but things should start being delivered any time now."

Bailey spoke up. "Why don't we go ahead and give them the souvenirs we brought them back?"

Cody nodded and went searching for one of their bags. He returned with a plastic bag and handed it to Zack and Maya. And when they opened the bag, Maya began to laugh.

"Matching Hawaiian shirts. Thanks guys, I love them."

Zack just looked at his. "Yeah, thanks." He turned to Maya and grinned. "We know have tropical wear for spring break!"

No sooner had he said that then there was a knock at the front door. Bailey went over to answer it to find a guy in coveralls holding a clipboard.

"Is this the Martin residence?"

Bailey smiled. "That's us."

"Sign here, please."

Bailey did, and almost immediately, their new furniture began being brought inside. The first was their bedroom furniture, and she instructed them where to put everything. Next was their living room furniture, ant it was placed where she said to as well. Shortly there after, their home office furniture and small table and chairs were brought in. And as soon as that truck left, a second one stopped by with several of their new small appliances.

When that one left, Zack turned and looked around. "Whoa...you all are going to be cramped in here now. Looks a lot smaller with furniture in here..."

Bailey laughed. "Compared to the dorm room we shared for three and a half years, this place is huge. I mean, we have a separate bedroom, study room, living room and we have a kitchen now. This place is great!"

Maya shrugged. "I can see that. Plus, the five minute walk to school will be nice."

"Exactly."

"You guys want us to help you unpack now?"

Bailey shook her head. "Nah. We appreciate the offer though. But I'm sure you two are ready to get back to Boston."

Cody grinned. "Now, if you want to stick around to help us write the thank you notes for our wedding presents, that would be nice."

Zack shook his head. "No thanks."

"Well, I guess we should take you all out for lunch before we send you back to Boston."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, and there is this hole in the wall a couple of blocks from here we love. It doesn't look like much, but the food is great."

An hour later, Zack and Maya were on the road back to Boston, and Cody and Bailey were back in their apartment. And they decided to just dig in head first. First, they unpacked their bags and put their clothes in their new dresser or in their closet. Once that was done, they unpacked their other things like Bailey's rooster alarm clock, Cody's waffle iron and their old books. An hour later, everything was unpacked, and all of their bags and boxes were taken down to their basement storage area.

"You ready to open the presents and do the thank you notes?"

Cody nodded. "I guess so. How about we alternate opening and writing the notes. You'll open the first one while I write the note before we both sign it and then we'll alternate back and forth."

"Good idea."

A few hours later, everything was opened, and the thank you notes were all ready to be put in the mail. While Bailey went to put those in the mailbox out on the street, she left Cody to a task she knew had his name written all over it – organizing the kitchen. And when she got back, Cody was flying around the kitchen organizing their silverware, glassware, cookware and everything else. She just shook her head and laughed. And when he heard her, he turned to look at her.

"What?"

"I was just thinking of a joke Grammy told me. She said for me loading the dishwasher meant getting you drunk..."

Cody just shook his head and laughed. "Well, the kitchen is done. I wish we had more counter space, but we'll make do. You ready to tackle the bedroom, home office and bathroom?

Another hour later, sheets and a comforter were on the bed, and towels, a hamper, rugs and a shower curtain were up in the bathroom. As far as they could tell, they were finished. And for the first time, they sunk back down into their new couch to relax. Bailey turned to Cody.

"Its getting late. A few minutes to rest before we hit the store?"

Cody sighed. "I say we wait to do that tomorrow..."

"Ummm...Cody, we have no food in the house. Plus, there are some other things we're probably going to need before tomorrow. You know...like toilet paper?"

He laughed. "Already taken care of." He got up to go grab a small plastic bag he had brought in from the car. "We should have everything we need for tonight and tomorrow morning in there."

Bailey looked inside and began laughing. She pulled out little bars or bottles of soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, moisturizer, deodorant, two rolls of toiler paper and even a couple of shower caps. She turned to him. "Where did you get all of this?"

He paused. "Well, before we left, I saw a maid's cart left unattended, and I figured since we were still technically guests of the hotel at the time..."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Well, I have to say good job. With all of this, we will be okay until tomorrow...except for food."

"There should be some mints in there too..."

"Cody..."

He smiled. "We'll just head down the street and grab something..."

"Have you seen us? We're both drenched in sweat!"

"We'll get it to go then." He grinned. "Besides. We're married now. Who are we trying to impress?"

Bailey just shook her head. "No one, but that's not the point..."

"Tell you what. Lets figure out what we want, we'll call it in. And I'll go pick it up while you try out our shower for the first time..."

She grinned. "I was kind of hoping we'd try it out together for the first time.. We'll get cleaned up together and then we can go dine out together."

He paused and grinned back. "Deal!"

Saturday, they finally went to the grocery store and Wal-Mart to get everything else they needed. And when they got home and unpacked everything, they fell back into their couch again.

"Well, Bails. We're fully moved in to our new home at school."

She laid her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, we are. Is it just me or does it seem like its been forever since we were last in school?"

He smiled. "Well, a lot has happened since our last undergraduate final..."

"I know. I know I love school, but I don't want our summer to end just yet. Its been the most amazing time of my life."

"I know what you mean. And the first day of school is usually one of my favorite days of the whole year."

"Mine too."

"Tell you what. We have the rest of today and tomorrow to do what ever we want. How about we head down to the beach tomorrow to enjoy one more day of sun, sand and surf?" He grinned. "And this time, we'll actually make it to the beach..."

She smiled. "I love it. And when we get back, we can pretend we're coming back into our hotel room one last time."

He smiled back. "Now its me who loves it."

"I think its a good idea. We'll need one last day to be free. Come Monday morning, I have no idea what to expect."

"Neither do I. But, if its even half as life changing as undergrad was, I can't wait."

__To be Continued...__


	84. Orientation

_Chapter 84_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After a fun Sunday spent both at the beach and back at home, it was time for Cody and Bailey to get in school mode once again. It was just orientation for the next week, but both knew to pay attention as they may learn something that would come in beneficial later on. And with the way orientation was set up, most of Monday was set up to allow most students to get moved in and settled into New Haven. The real orientation would start on Tuesday, but Monday was for signing up, getting all of their orientation materials including class schedules, and other preliminary matters. Yale broke them down in groups alphabetically, and the group for letters L-Q was supposed to register at ten that morning.

To make sure they weren't late and to time themselves on the walk to the medical school, Cody and Bailey left their apartment at 9:30. And as they were leaving their apartment, they happened to run into their next door neighbors leaving theirs too. From what they could tell, it was another couple about their own age. And since they were neighbors, Bailey decided to be friendly.

"Hi. I guess we're neighbors. I'm Bailey Martin, and this my husband, Cody."

The other woman smiled back. "I'm Annie Madison, and this is my husband, Ben. I guess you two are grad students too, huh?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah. First year med students. We begin orientation today." She laughed. "So, if you smell formaldehyde at some point, its just us..."

Annie laughed. "Or us. We're first year med students too. Why don't we walk over together?"

That's what they did and continued to talk and get to know each other.

"So, how long have you two been married?"

Bailey smiled. "Since August 8th. You?"

Annie smiled back. "July 11th. I see you two chose 8-8. That's an easy way to remember it. We both thought it was appropriate to get married on 7-11 as we met at the campus convenience store."

Cody spoke up. "Where did you two go to school?"

Ben answered. "Stanford. We're both California natives. Actually, we're both from the LA area, but we had never met each other until our freshman year in Palo Alto."

Cody laughed. "We met the first day of our freshmen year here at Yale. I'm originally from Boston, and Bailey is from Kettlecorn, Kansas."

Bailey smiled. "So, if you have any questions about Yale's campus or New Haven, feel free to ask."

Annie sighed. "That would be great. We just got moved in yesterday, and we still haven't found a grocery store yet."

"Stop by later, and I'll give you the directions to the one we use. There is a Wal-Mart right across the street from it too."

"We would appreciate that so much..."

Ben turned to Cody. "Celtics fan?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. Lakers fan?"

"Uh huh."

Annie shook her head. "Boys and their sports teams." She smiled. "At least we are both Dodgers fans..."

Bailey laughed. "Well, my local team was the Royals, but we have a bet going that if the Royals don't finish in the top three in their division or have a winning record by the time we graduate medical school, I have to convert to the Red Sox nation. If they do, Cody has to convert to a Chiefs fan and forget about the Patriots."

Ben shook his head. "The Pats. Nothing but a bunch of cheaters..."

Cody grinned. "I didn't realize people from LA knew about the NFL. You know...after their two teams hightailed it out of there to such wonderful places like St. Louis and Oakland."

Ben just stared at him before laughing. "Well played, Sir. What about college sports around here?"

Cody shrugged. "Well, Yale fields teams in most things, but they suck in pretty much everything except hockey. Though, the annual football game with Harvard gets pretty heated."

"Great. That was the good thing about Stanford. We were pretty good at everything at the highest level. But I'm guessing we won't see much of them anymore due to the east coast bias."

Cody laughed. "Hey, if you want to complain, you're only about 30 miles from the home of ESPN up in Bristol. Head up there yourself to complain."

Ben lit up. "That's right!" He turned to Annie. "I see a road trip in our future!"

Annie just sighed. "Great..."

The four of them arrived at the medical school, and since they had the same last initial, they had to wait in the same line to get their orientation packages. And when they got them, Cody and Bailey double checked their schedules to make sure they had the same ones. Then the lady at the table if they had the packet of information they were supposed to bring. Both just smiled as they handed them a folder with both of their final undergraduate transcripts, a copy of the immunizations they had both gotten over the summer as well as the summer homework assignment they had to do.

The lady looked up and smiled. "Good for you. The homework wasn't actually due for another three weeks."

Bailey smiled. "We like to be ahead as much as possible."

As they waited for the second year student to lead their group over to get new student IDs, they sat around and talked more with Annie and Ben. And comparing schedules, they realized they all had the same schedule. Realizing they needed groups of four for the gross anatomy lab and pre-clinical clerkship, they all agreed to be a group since they were two married couples and neighbors so it might make things easier.

Soon after, the second year student who was assigned to their group of twenty students showed up.

"Welcome everyone to Yale Medical School. Since you're here, you must be the best of the best. But before the fun starts next Monday, we'll try to have as much fun as we can this week. Consider it your last blast before its time to get serious. Now, do I have anyone here who went to undergrad here at Yale?"

Cody, Bailey and another girl raised their hands.

"Okay, you three know your way to the student ID office and the bookstore. So, you two don't need me to do that. But, I can still help you by making recommendations as far as other things you might want to buy. Now, first tip I'm going to give you? If you have scrubs or old clothes, wear those and old shoes to your gross anatomy labs." He laughed. "It tends to get kind of messy in there." He noticed the looks he was getting. "Don't worry, after a year here, your senses of humor will get a little morbid too..."

Cody whispered to Bailey. "Don't worry. Before I left the clinic, they gave me a bunch of old scrubs. They were switching from blue ones to green ones, so we already have that taken care of."

She smiled. "We'll just need to stop and buy us each a pair of cheap shoes to wear. And when were done, we'll just throw them all into an incinerator."

And with that, their group was off across campus. The first stop was to the student ID office. Bailey had to get a new one anyways to an ID that had her married name, but Cody went ahead and got one too. And their new cards said that they were med students instead of undergraduate students. From there it was on to the University Bookstore. And after all the recommendations from the second year, their shopping cart was quite full. But their books weren't the most expensive items they had. The medical equipment like stethoscopes and ophthalmotoscope they would need for all four years totaled over $800 a piece. All together, equipment, books and supplies for both of them approached $5,000. Seeing that total, both were happy that the university was picking up the tab again.

Once that was over, they were free for the day. So, Cody and Bailey headed home to organize all of their new books and things. But once that was done, they did head out with Ben and Annie to a mixer put on by the Office of Student Affairs.

Tuesday brought with it the beginning of the real orientation. In a large auditorium, all of the incoming class of first years was gathered for the opening speech by the dean of the medical school.

"I'd like to welcome you all the the Yale School of Medicine. I want you all to look around at the people in the room with you. We received over four thousand applications to be here today. The one hundred of you here are the cream of the crop. I'm sure you've heard that the American Medical Association is pushing for medical schools to increase the sizes of their incoming classes. Well, Yale refuses to do that. Because we aren't just training doctors here...we're training the future leaders of the medical profession. And with smaller classes, we can achieve that goal much easier. Now, for the next few days, you'll learn more about what you have all gotten yourselves into. But allow me to be the first one to officially welcome you."

For the next several days, they sat through lectures ranging from topics including effective study habits to sexual harassment. A few of the lectures really hit home to them.

"I know most of you your whole lives have been striving to get the almighty 'A'. Well, you're going to have to learn to do without that. Here at Yale Medical School, we will be giving you qualifying exams at the end of each course. On these, you will simply pass or fail. But to continue on to your second year, you will have to pass all of these qualifying exams. You could ace them or barely squeak by, but it won't matter here."

To Cody and Bailey, that was definitely a change to them. But they decided they weren't going to change their study habits any. Its like the old saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And if what they used got them 4.0s throughout Yale undergrad, it definitely wasn't broke. They figured it should translate to mere passes rather easily.

"Yale Medical School will be unlike anything you've ever experience before. No, it will not be a 24/7 endeavor, but major restraints will be placed on your time. And often, you will get home exhausted reeking of formaldehyde. Its important that you have a solid support system in place. If you are married or have a significant other, its important that they understand this. If they aren't supportive, it will make your experience here almost unbearable."

Cody and Bailey looked at each other and smiled.

"I'm glad we're both going through this together."

"Me too. I think we'll be better off than a lot of people having someone who knows firsthand what we're going through."

Cody grinned. "I knew I married you for some reason."

Bailey grinned back. "Uh huh. You just keep remembering that."

Finally, Saturday morning arrived, and the last major event of their orientation was about to occur – the white coat ceremony. This was the formal ceremony that would change them from regular people to medical professionals. They were once again in the auditorium as the dean spoke again.

"Once you don your whit coat for the first time, your life will forever be changed. You will join an elite group of people dedicating their lives to making the lives of others better. Before we start though, I want to read something to you that, hopefully, you will all be reciting yourselves in several years."

He paused. "I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures that are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilsm.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given to me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help."

The dean paused and looked around. "Boys and Girls, in case you didn't know, that was the Hippocratic Oath. Learn it. Love it. Live it."

Soon after, everyone crossed the stage to be fitted with their white coats. And when the ceremony was over, the dean spoke again.

"The ceremony you just went through is considered to be similar to a priest's ordination to priesthood. So, that will give you an idea of how seriously we take it around here. Respect that coat you are now wearing. Alright, that's it. We'll see you on Monday for the first day of classes. Hope you're ready."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Some have noticed, but its true. These chapters are shorter than usual. But they are still longer than my usual chapters somehow. And back when I was debating whether or not to do Cody and Bailey in grad school during my COD series, I did research about medical school. I still have it, so I decided to finally use it. Of course, with orientation, I mixed in what I actually endured with my own law school orientation.**__  
><em>_


	85. The Kettlecorn Coincidence

_Chapter 85_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

That Saturday night was the last chance for everyone to blow off steam and have a little fun before classes began on Monday. Sunday would be spent doing their reading and preparation for their classes on Monday. That was another lesson they had quickly learned – graduate schools didn't do syllabus days. But Saturday night was the last night to get a little crazy, and the student organizations were having a big party that night. A lot of students were using it as a chance to get drunk and forget that school was two days away, but not Cody and Bailey. In fact, that kind of scene wasn't really there style, but they wanted to at least make an appearance. And the sight they saw was kind of surprising to them.

Cody whispered to Bailey. "I know I've read that doctors had some of the highest rates of alcoholism, but I didn't really believe it until now..."

She nodded. "Tell me about it. Why do I get the feeling this is what a fraternity kegger would be like?"

He laughed. "Probably not too far off. How about I go see if I can find us something to drink that doesn't have any alcohol in it?"

She kissed his cheek. "Sounds good to me, Sweetie. Look for me outside, I think I need some fresh air. You would think future doctors would know the risks of smoking..."

Cody headed off one way while Bailey slipped outside to the back deck. It was already warm in New Haven in August, but with so many people inside, it was stifling. Feeling a cool breeze, she sighed in relief. She had just checked her cell phone to see what time it was when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see a shorter guy in glasses standing there she had never seen before.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, but you look awfully familiar to me. I think I may know you."

Bailey shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. Maybe you saw me around Yale's campus the past four years?"

He shook his head. "That wouldn't be it. I graduated from the University of Kansas four years ago, and then went back two years ago to get my MBA. My name is Reggie Wilson."

"I'm Bailey Martin. Did you say the University of Kansas? I'm originally from Kansas myself. I'm from..."

Reggie just looked at her in surprise. "Kettlecorn! That's why you look familiar! You're Shelly Pickett's sister, aren't you? I can see the family resemblance."

Bailey nodded and smiled. "Yeah, Shelly's my older sister, but her name is Shelly Miller now. She got married about six years ago and is due to give birth to her second child any day now."

Reggie smiled. "What are the odds of two people from little old Kettlecorn being in the 100 people they chose here."

Bailey laughed. "Pretty astronomical I guess."

"Well, it's nice to know there will be someone else around here I sort of know. I bet we have the most people her per capita of any place in the country."

"I'm sure Kettlecorn will be proud."

He laughed. "I hope so. Just the two of us so far away from home all by ourselves..."

"Well, actually, I'm..."

But before she could continue, Reggie's cell phone began ringing. "Hold that thought for a second..."

Bailey just shrugged and began looking around for Cody. She saw him trying to hold two cups and make his way through a crowd of people. She began laughing as he began reminding her of a pinball bouncing one way or another off of people.

Reggie turned to her. "Sorry, I left a note introducing myself to my roommate, and he just showed up back the apartment. I have to go to meet him. Hope to see you around again real soon." He left, but Bailey wasn't really paying attention as she was enjoying watching her husband stumble his way out to her. When he finally got out to Bailey, he was grinning with pride.

"Didn't spill a single drop."

Bailey laughed again. "Looks like my husband has a back-up career as a waiter if medical school doesn't work out..."

Cody laughed too. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey, get this. While I was outside, I ran into someone else here from Kettlecorn."

He looked at her in surprise. "Really? Someone you knew?"

She shook her head. "Actually, I don't remember him at all. I think he said he was four years older than me, but he knows my sister, Shelly."

Cody paused to place which one Shelly was and nodded. "Ohhh...Okay. Well, that's a nice coincidence."

"I know. Just think Kettlecorn was responsible for 2% of our first year class."

He smiled. "Well, I only care about 50% of that 2%."

She smiled back. "I know. And there is only 1% of our class that I care about." She looked around. "This really isn't for us. How about we go home?"

"Sounds good to me." He handed her a cup. "At least we have some juice to sip on as we walk."

And off they went. They took their time walking back as they weren't sure when they would have the time to just take a leisurely stroll on campus again. But when they got home, they changed into their pajamas and just cuddled up on the couch to watch some TV and just enjoy spending time together. Sunday was spent reading the assigned material for their first day of classes. Unlike undergrad, they wouldn't get to choose any electives they wanted basically until their fourth year, so they just had to endure what they had to read.

Starting off the year, they would have classes in Molecules to Systems Integrated Curriculum (which included subjects like Biochemistry, Cell Biology and Histology and Physiology) and their Preclinical Clerkship and Tutorial that would both last their entire first years. In addition, there was Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics which would last until spring break. Finally there were was Professional Responsibility and Human Anatomy which would both end sometime after Christmas break. But those would be replaced with classes in Immunibiology, Neurobiology, Pathology, Child & Adolescent Development, Genetics and Biological Basis of Behavior. And those classes would begin and end staggered throughout the spring semester.

Monday morning, they were up early and ready to begin their day. Yale split their first year class into two sections as it would be much easier to teach fifty students instead of one hundred. But their last class of the day was Human Anatomy, and all one hundred students would be in there around 25 tables containing the corpse of someone who donated their body to science. When it came time to discuss the sexual reproduction systems, two tables would share first on a male and then a female. And scheduling it at three in the afternoon was a good call as it wouldn't be right after lunch or right before dinner for those without the strongest of stomachs.

And at two thirty that afternoon, Cody and Bailey showed up for their Human Anatomy class. Fortunately, there were locker rooms so students could change into scrubs or old clothes. Cody and Ben headed for the men's locker room while Bailey and Annie headed for the ladies one. Of course, Cody and Bailey had arrived extra early and staked out a table closest to the professor's podium, and Ben and Annie didn't seem to mind that.

Bailey and Annie were coming out of the ladies' locker room when Bailey heard her name being called.

"Bailey!"

Bailey turned around and saw Reggie. "Oh...Hey."

Reggie smiled at her. "I thought I'd see you before now, but I guess you're in the other section. Anyways, my roommate and I have two open spaces at our dissection table. Would you and your friend like to join us?"

Bailey shook her head. "Sorry, we can't. Annie and I are actually sharing a table with our husbands. Sorry."

Reggie just looked at her. "Husband? You're married?"

Bailey smiled. "I sure am. Cody and I got married the 8th of this month. We met our freshman year here at Yale."

He was taken aback. "Well...Congratulations. That would explain why you said your last name was no longer Pickett. I guess all you Pickett girls are married now, huh?"

She laughed. "All except my youngest three sisters, but they all have boyfriends now except my youngest sister, Sally. So, who knows? Maybe before too much longer, we'll all be." Bailey looked around. "I think class is about to start. See you around school sometime."

He just nodded and slipped away. Annie laughed. "I think you just hurt his feelings..."

Bailey looked at her confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I think he has a small crush on you."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "No way. He doesn't even know me, just my sister. Besides, even if he did, too bad. I'm happily married thank you very much. But I'm sure its nothing. I bet he just thought that since we're from the same hometown that we could hang out. I remember before I came to Yale for the first time, I was worried about how I'd fit in. And then I met Cody, and everything worked out perfectly. He'll meet someone here and he'll be fine too."

"If you say so..."

But Bailey shrugged it off and didn't think any more about it because they got right to it in Human Anatomy. The first day mean the first cut, and her focus on the task at hand made her completely forget about running into Reggie. No one was in a real hurry to make the first scalpel cut, but finally Cody just shook his head, took a deep breath and grabbed his scalpel.

"I'll do it..."

Two hours later, their first lab was complete, and they were all a little messy and had an aroma of formaldehyde surrounding them. Cody and Bailey decided to wait to change back into regular clothes until they had a chance to get home and showered. And once they had, both just looked at each other and laughed.

"You know, I think the stories of reeking of formaldehyde were way overblown. I don't smell anything out of the ordinary."

Bailey smiled. "Me either. And I'm really proud of you for being the first to cut today. Once you did, I think it took the pressure off of everyone else. I know it did for me."

Cody smiled back. "Well, the first cut is always the most difficult. Now, in honor of today, why don't will grill some stakes on the deck and give ourselves some extra practice with a knife..."

She laughed. "Sounds good." Then she paused. "You know, Codykins...I think our senses of humor are already turning a little morbid."

He paused too. "Maybe so." He smiled again. "At least we both are. Besides, even if I make a bad joke, I'm already used to you rolling your eyes at me."

Cody headed out on their deck to do the grilling while Bailey made them a salad and some twice baked potatoes. One everything was cooked, they sat down for a family dinner before it was time to get back to work. They retired to their home office to do their reading for the next day, and when they finished that, they changed back into their pajamas to watch a little television before heading to bed. They were just lounging back together when they heard a knock at their front door about ten thirty. They just looked at each other in surprise.

"Who the heck is knocking on our door at ten thirty at night?"

Cody shrugged, but he got up to answer the front door thinking it was Ben or Annie needing something. But when he opened the door, he was face to face with some guy he had never seen before.

"Can I help you?"

The guy nodded. "Yeah, I'm looking for Bailey Pickett...well, who used to be Bailey Pickett"

By that time, Bailey had joined Cody at the door. "Reggie?"

Cody turned to her. "You know this guy?"

"Yeah, its that other guy from Kettlecorn I was telling you about." She turned to Reggie. "What are you doing here?"

"Well..." He paused. "May I come in?"

They both stepped back as he walked into their apartment.

"Nice place." He turned back to them. "I was thinking. They say the best way to survive around here is to have a good study group. So, I decided I would put together a good group as soon as possible. And well, Bailey...I was hoping you'd join my group." He saw Cody giving him a look. "Your husband too of course..."

Bailey wasn't quite sure what to say. She hated to think it, but it looked like Annie might have been right.

"Sorry, Reggie. I've already got a study group so to speak. You see, Cody and I have studied together for four years in undergrad. And we graduated with 4.0s, so our system of studying together seems to be working, so..."

Reggie frowned and nodded. "I see. Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you then." And with that, he left as quickly as he had came.

Cody turned to Bailey. "Okay, that guy seriously gives me the creeps..."

She sighed. "I know, but I do feel kind of bad for him."

"Why?"

"Because he's all by himself up here. He doesn't know anyone. I think because we're both from Kettlecorn, he's latching on to me like a shelter in a storm."

Cody shook his head. "Still...Just showing up here like that at this time of night?"

Bailey grabbed his hand and lead him back over to the couch. "And I guess I know how he feels. Its the same way I felt when I first got to Yale. But I got lucky. The person I latched on to turned out to be my best friend, the love of my life and now my husband. If you hadn't been here at Yale, that could have been me running around grasping for straws..."

Cody just looked at her and sighed. "And it probably would have been me too if you hadn't been here. But we latched on to each other, Bails. I guess I can understand that. But, I just get a real bad vibe from him. He totally ignored my existence, and it was like I wasn't even here..."

She smiled at him. "I know, but I'm sure he's harmless. We have nothing to worry about. He'll find someone else to study with and hang out with before long. I bet within a couple of weeks, we'll barely even see him around school."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: Just an update. I'll be leaving for Louisville (pronounced Lool-vool - both rhyme with wool but say them both together fast) on Monday afternoon and won't be taking my computer with me. But, my girlfriend has graciously agreed to post chapter I'll have done in my stead. So, if on Mon, Tue or Wed, the chapters get screwed up, please don't blame her. Oh well, back to studying. Once I close my study guides Sunday night, I'm done studying then. I'm rapidly approaching (if not already passed) the point of diminishing returns.**__  
><em>_


	86. Refusing to Buy a Clue

_Chapter 86_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After the first week of medical school was under their belts, Cody and Bailey paused to compare the rigors of grad school with that of undergrad. The realized the work load was indeed more, but being chemistry and biology majors, most of the actual science they were learning was ideas and concepts they had already been exposed to before. Well, except for human anatomy – in undergrad, they had never dissected an actual person. But overall, they thought their study routine would continue to work well for medical school, so there was no reason to try to change it or modify it then.

Of course, on that Saturday, they called both sets of concerned parents to let them know that they had both survived their first weeks of classes. Most were happy for them and wanted to hear all about it, but Kurt said he had to go when they began talking about their dissections in human anatomy. And as far as they could tell, they really thought the rumors of first years reeking of formaldehyde were vastly overblown. As far as they could tell, they couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary.

Classes continued, and before they knew it, they had already been in school for a month. And in that time, they were always up to date on their reading and class preparation. In fact, in human anatomy, their table with their neighbors was well ahead of the curve. The professor and instructors didn't have to spend a lot of time with them to make sure they were doing things right. And by then, all four were getting more and more comfortable in taking the lead and doing the actual cutting. One of the things that had helped them was that they had resisted the urge to unwrap the face of their human cadaver. By not seeing what their Jane Doe looked like, they were able to remain detached.

Their Pre-Clinical Clerkship and Tutorial was interesting as well. Cody and Bailey were paired in a group again with Ben and Annie and assigned to a physician at the Yale New Haven Children's Hospital. The purpose of the class was to follow around a doctor and learn the basics of doctor-patient interactions. And from the beginning, both could see that how they handled they young girl Abby on the cruise ship hadn't been an aberration but rather a sign of things to come.

"You know, Codykins. You really should think about going into pediatrics with me. You're a natural with kids. And when were done with our residency, we could open up our own clinic – The Martin Children's Clinic."

He smiled at her. "We'll see. I like the sound of that, but when it comes to match day in a few years, I want to make sure we somehow get residency choices in the same city. If we both go for pediatrics, that might be difficult."

Bailey nodded. "That's true. We'll figure something out though."

And it seemed like Bailey had been right about other things as well. They had only seen Reggie in the hallways at school. They would be nice and acknowledge him, but there were no more late night visits on his part to their apartment. So, they figured he had finally found his own group to hang out with. Well, they did until one day in mid October when they were sitting in Marigolds, the grill in the medical school. They were just talking and laughing about something in their professional responsibility class when they heard a voice behind them.

"Mind if I join you two?"

By the time either could figure out what was going, Reggie has sat down next to Bailey.

"So, how have you been doing, Bailey? This all has been a lot to take in, huh? I'm usually up till 2 AM every morning getting all of the reading done..."

Bailey paused trying to figure out what to say. "Ummm...yeah, it is a lot of information I guess."

"Is your little study group still working for you? You two rethinking joining mine yet?"

She nodded. "Yeah, its still working well. You know, besides being my husband, Cody's also my favorite study partner. We work well with each other. He'll catch things I've missed, and I'll catch things he's missed. Between the two of us, we usually have all the bases covered. That's why we're such a good team."

Reggie just nodded doing his best to still ignore Cody. "I see. Well, I know I can't wait for fall break and Thanksgiving next month. I bet you can't wait to get back to Kettlecorn either, huh?"

"Actually, we aren't going to Kettlecorn for Thanksgiving. We're heading to Boston."

He just laughed. "Why would you want to go to the armpit of New England?"

Cody almost growled. "Because that's where I'm from...you know, her husband?"

Bailey could tell Cody was getting really upset by then and was trying to diffuse the situation. "Boston is actually a wonderful city, and I love it there. And yes, Cody's family, which is my family now too, is from Boston. We've decided that since we're married now, we have to split up the holidays up between our families. So, we're going to spend Thanksgiving in Boston and Christmas in Kettlecorn."

Reggie smiled. "Maybe over Christmas break, we can book the same flight back home to Kansas together? That could be fun."

Cody rolled his eyes, but Bailey held her composure. "Actually, we'll be going to Boston for a few days first for an early Christmas with our family there. And Cody and I have a friend whose family has a private jet, and she flies in and out of Kettlepot when we go home."

Reggie kept looking right at Bailey. "Wow! A private jet must be nice. Maybe sometime I can hitch a ride with you on it?"

Cody just looked at him incredulously, and by then, Bailey was getting tired of Reggie not buying a clue. "Sorry, its not our plane to offer rides on."

But he still refused to buy one. "Your friend won't mind, will she? Kettlecorn is so small, so we're all basically like family anyways. I could just stay with you until its time to head back. Maybe you could show me around Boston and change my opinion of it."

Bailey sighed. "Again, we're staying with Cody's mother and stepfather in Boston. We couldn't ask her to take in a total stranger that neither Cody or I knew."

Reggie smiled. "But we're not strangers. We're old friends, remember?"

Bailey closed her eyes and shook her head. She'd tried being nice, but it clearly wasn't working. Time to be direct. "Actually, we're not friends nor have we ever been ones. You might have known my sister, Shelly, but I don't remember you at all. And we certainly never hung out together. No offense, Reggie...but I don't know you from that guy sitting at the table over there. Just because we came from the same hometown doesn't mean anything. That would be like me thinking Cody knew everyone in Boston."

He jerked back. "You don't consider us friends?" He paused. "I'm sorry you feel that way. I hope you will give me the chance to become your friend then..." He smiled at her. "...or maybe more. After all, we do have so much in common..."

Bailey could hear Cody grinding his teeth and could see him beginning to stand up.. "All I know is that MY HUSBAND and I are late for class. We have to be going." She stood up and grabbed Cody's hand and lead him out of the cafeteria. And when they were far enough away, she stopped him.

"Look. I know your upset..."

"Bails, there is seriously something wrong with that guy! And he was flirting with my wife right in front of me! I wanted to wipe the floor with him!"

She sighed. "I know. He was making me extremely uncomfortable too." She then smiled at him. "And if he was trying to flirt with me, he's wasting his time. You remember how upset I got when I met the English twins?"

Cody paused and nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I remember what you told me then. I want you to remember that you are my husband. You are the one I love. You are the only one I notice. He can juggle while balancing a ball on his nose, and you will still be the only one I notice." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You're my Cody Kitten." She kissed him on the the lips. "You're my Codykins and always will be. You know that, right?"

He exhaled and smiled. "I know. Sorry if I'm acting a little jealous. I'm just very much in love with and very protective of you. I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

"You'll never have to find out because I'm very much in love with you too. Tell you what thought. From now on, we'll just ignore him and pretend like he doesn't exist."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And if that doesn't get through to him, remember what we learned in orientation about the honor code?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"If he doesn't catch on, I'll tell him to leave us alone or else we'll report him for stalking and harassment."

"You sure about that?"

Bailey smiled. "I'm positive. You are my husband, and we're here to get a wonderful education. I refuse to let anyone or anything cause problems for either of those."

The rest of October went by smoothly. Classes were still challenging, but Cody and Bailey thrived on that. Their studying was still going well, and they even took a night off to attend the Halloween party thrown by the Office of Student Affairs. Actually, the party was a joint party with the Yale School of Law that was affectionately called 'The Malpractice Mixer'. The evening was a lot of fun, and it was made even better by the fact that Reggie was nowhere to be seen. They even saw Monica and George there as George was a first year law student. The three first year students stood around and talked about how their different first years were going. Well, they did until Monica said she had enough shop talk and was there to have some fun.

With Halloween over, November arrived. And with that, it meant fall break was only three weeks away. And while they were handling school just fine, they were looking forward to having a week off to just relax. They weren't the only ones as everyone at school including the professors was looking forward to it too. And with anything you're looking forward to, time drug by slowly. The first two weeks finally elapsed, and they only had a week of classes left. And on that Saturday afternoon, they decided to have a day to themselves. So, they went out and saw a movie and had dinner. It was a day both of them needed, and when they got home, they were looking forward to continuing their day of romance. But when they walked into their building, the found a vase full of flowers sitting outside of their door.

Bailey smiled. "Codykins! This was so sweet of you!" She reached down to pick the flowers up and smell them. But when she looked over at Cody, she noticed the look on his face. He wasn't smiling, and instead, he had a strange look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Bails, I didn't send you those flowers. Remember, I did that once before and you told me to save our money for other things..."

She paused. "That's right...But, if you didn't send them, who did?"

Cody sighed. "I'll give you one guess."

Bailey checked the flowers, but there was no card or any other sign of identification. "No card, so we don't know who they are from." She turned to him. "Are you sure you didn't send these to me and are just messing with me right now?"

"I swear to you, Bails."

She paused again. "Well, since you didn't send them, and I know my parents or your parents would have included a card if they had sent them. If in fact it was Reggie, I don't want them. Unfortunately, we can't prove who did send them, so there's nothing we can do right now" She paused turned to him. "Except one thing. Instead of just throwing them away, why don't we walk them over to the hospital and have them give them to a patient who doesn't have any?"

Cody smiled. "And that's why I love you so much. You have a such a big heart, Sweetheart."

Bailey smiled back. "Thanks, Sweetie. Come on, lets go for a walk and burn off some of those calories from dinner. We'll have our time alone when we get back and burn off some more..."

She looped her arm with his his, and they walked off laughing. But down their hallway, someone was watching them and severely disappointed that Bailey was going to give away the flowers he had bought for her. He was not happy at all about that, and it made him sick to hear those two talk all lovey dovey with each other. Shaking his head, he just couldn't understand what was going on. What was it going to take for her to notice him? What was it going to take for her to give him a chance? Didn't Bailey realize she was perfect for him? And then it came to him. That Cody must have brainwashed her or had some kind of other control over her. Reggie knew right then that he had to do something to get Cody out of the picture.

Bailey tried to put the flowers incident behind them, but Cody wasn't about to let it go. When it came to his wife, not precaution was too little or too great to protect her. So, he had no qualms about calling the graduate student housing and campus security to inform them of the fact that his wife has a stalker and was outside of their apartment the night before. And this is where he got a little lucky. Campus security remembered him from four years earlier. While they were grateful Cody had stopped the campus attacker then, it still stung that it took a student to bring him down instead of them. So, they were going to beef up patrols around their house so Cody wouldn't get the chance to one up them again. On the other hand, the campus housing office had some prior difficulties with break ins in some dorms and other campus housing. So, the plan to install security cameras had long been in the works. With Cody bringing them an imminent problem, their building was among the first to have them installed.

The last week of classes finally passed by, and everyone was free for a week. On that Friday, Cody and Bailey spent the evening at home doing their laundry and preparing to head out to Boston the next day. And as they were in the laundry room, Cody could only smile as he looked up and saw the security camera focused on them.

"Codykins?"

He turned to look at Bailey. "Yes, Dear?"

"What are you smiling about?"

He pointed at the camera. "That. I feel safer knowing there is another set of eyes around here."

Bailey looked at the camera and then smiled back at him. "Me too. When did they put those in?"

"This week I think. But if you know who tries to show up here again, we'll have evidence this time to give to the Honor Council."

She just shook her head. "I still say we just keep ignoring him, he'll finally get the idea and go away. I mean...most guys eventually give up when they realize that have no chance. And hopefully, the sooner the better."

"I hope so too, but I'm not taking any chances. Bails, when that guy jumped you our freshman year, I was scared to death. And four years later, there isn't anything I wouldn't do to protect you.."

She paused. "Well, I don't want you to get into any trouble, but it does feel good to know the lengths you'll go to for me."

"Because I love you."

"I love you too. Now, lets take our clothes upstairs. We have to pack. And then we'll be in Boston for a week, and we won't have to worry about running into him."

He leaned in and kissed her. "You're right."

And the next morning, the loaded up their car, and headed out of the parking garage on their way to I-95. Neither one of them noticed the car that pulled out behind them and began following them.

__To be Continued...__


	87. Back to Boston Part Sept

_Chapter 87_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

On their drive back to Boston, Cody and Bailey enjoyed the chance to be able to talk about anything without medical school being in the back of their minds. And they were really looking forward to seeing friends and family again that they hadn't seen in several month. In fact, they were so looking forward to getting out of New Haven for a week that they never noticed that the same car had been following them since they pulled away from campus. But as the approached the outskirts of Boston, Cody took a different exit than they normally did. Surprised, Bailey turned to Cody.

"Where are you going?"

"To Chestnut Hill. We're stopping my Zack and Maya's place, remember?"

She shook her head. "Ummm...No. This is the first I've heard of this."

He frowned. "I'm sure I mentioned it. Zack called last night. They're buying a new bookshelf for their place, but it won't fit in Maya's car. So, we're going to switch cars so they can pick it up and then switch back later tonight. I could have swore I told you that though..."

Bailey shrugged. "Its no big deal, but you didn't tell me..."

Cody paused to think. "Zack called, and then you came into our bedroom..." He stopped and began laughing. "Oh...I remember now."

"Care to enlighten me then?"

He grinned. "You came into our bedroom wearing one of the gifts you got for our honeymoon. Seeing my beautiful, sexy wife like that must have caused my mind to go blank and forget all about it."

Bailey just shook her head and laughed too. "So, its my fault?"

"Sort of. I can't help the effect you have on me."

She patted his knee and smiled. "Well, I'll let it slide this time." She paused and laughed again. "Who am I kidding? You keep looking at me with those hungry eyes you had last night, and I'll let it slide every time."

Cody squeezed her hand. "Deal."

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of Zack and Maya's building and found the last open spot on the street. Of course, they didn't see or hear Reggie cursing because he were going to have to circle the block and come back around to find a spot to keep an eye on them. Cody and Bailey made their way to Zack and Maya's door and knocked. When she opened the door, Maya hugged them both in greeting and had them come inside. After hearing a flush, they saw Zack come from the bathroom in the hall carrying a comic book.

"About time you two got here. We've been waiting for you two for over an hour now."

Zack hugged his sister-in-law and clasped his brother on the back before his eyes went wide. "Okay, you guys stink!"

Cody and Bailey looked at each other confused. "What are you talking about, Zack?"

He held his nose. "You two smell like those frogs we had to dissect in high school..."

Cody and Bailey lifted their shirts above their noses to smell them and shrugged. "We don't smell anything."

Maya smiled. "Probably because you're used to it by now and don't notice. But it looks like you were right...I can definitely smell the formaldehyde. And...its pretty strong..."

Bailey sighed. "And here we thought that was just a myth. We never seriously never noticed it."

Zack and Maya shook their heads. "Well...its there."

Cody turned to Bailey. "And we used nitrile gloves instead of latex ones. And we never change into our real clothes until after we showered when we got home. I don't understand this."

Zack shrugged. "No clue here, but lets switch keys and get you two out of here before you cause our place to smell like a morgue..."

Maya nodded. "And please...leave the windows down on my car to keep it aired out..."

Cody and Bailey hung their heads, and headed out to Maya's car. The threw their bags in the bag seat, and off the went back towards to the Tipton Hotel. And just as they had pulled out and were halfway down the street, another car finally turned on to the street again.

"Stupid one way streets..." He looked and saw Cody and Bailey's car. "At least they're still here." Noticing an empty spot on the street, he pulled in and began waiting. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but he hoped he would get something. A few minutes later, Reggie saw who he thought was Cody coming out of the apartment building holding hands with a girl – a girl that wasn't Bailey. He grinned and brought out his camera and began snapping pictures. And when the couple kissed, he began laughing.

"Jackpot! Don't worry, Bailey. Very soon, I'll show you just who your husband really is..."

Across town at the Tipton, Cody and Bailey parked Maya's car in the garage and headed up to the 24th floor. Inside the suite, Carey immediately hugged them both as soon as they walked in and then suddenly jerked back away from them.

"Hey...you two..."

Cody rolled his eyes. "You smell it too, don't you?"

She sighed in relief. "Good. I wasn't imagining things."

Bailey shook her head. "We can't smell it, but then again we're used to it by now. And we've taken every precaution against it that we can think of, but its obviously still there."

Carey turned away to take a deep breath. "Well, you're first year med students. I'm sure its just par for the course..."

Cody sighed. "Great. We're going to ruin Thanksgiving because we our olfactory eminations..."

"Nothing is ruined, Honey. You two are here, and that's all that matters."

Cody shook his head. "Who's going to want to sit around a table with us now? Who's going to want to eat a meal I made with these hands?"

Carey paused to think. "I might have an idea. You guys willing to give it a shot?"

Bailey nodded. "Of course. We're willing to try anything."

"Okay, you two wait right here. I'll be right back."

Carey left the suite, and Cody and Bailey just looked at each other.

"This sucks."

"And it will be the same way when we go to Kettlecorn for Christmas. Even with all of the manure there, we're sure to stand out."

He smiled at her. "Look at it this way. Three weeks after we get back after Christmas, we'll be done with the smell of formaldehyde forever...unless we decide to become pathologists."

"Until we get to our clinical years, then we'll smell like a hospital...you know, the stench of disinfectant, urine and who knows what else..."

Cody laughed. "If only you had stopped after disinfectant..."

Bailey laughed too. "Should have seen that coming." She paused. "This is why I'm glad we're doing this together. You don't care that I reek right now."

"Same here."

About that time, Carey came back into the suite, rolling in several large cans on a dolly. Cody and Bailey just looked at her.

"What do you have there, Mom?"

Carey grinned at them. "This is a long shot I know, but I remember when I was younger, my boyfriend and I..."

Cody groaned. "Not another ex-boyfriend story..."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. The point is, I got sprayed by a skunk, and I reeked afterwards. No matter how many baths I took, I couldn't get rid of that smell. That's when your grandmother suggested I bathe in tomato juice. And it worked! So, I borrowed several cans from Chef Paulo. I figured we'd give it a shot and see if it works again."

Bailey turned to Cody. "I've actually heard of that working before."

He shrugged. "Why not? It wont hurt anything to to try."

An hour later, Bailey came out of the bathroom in her robe, and Carey looked up and smiled.

"Well?"

"You tell me."

Carey got up and sniffed around Bailey including her hair. She grinned. "I think it worked! I can't smell anything." She laughed. "Well, maybe it smells like you just came from an Italian restaurant, but that's definitely a major improvement..."

Bailey laughed. "I'll take it. I'll have to add tomato juice to our grocery list when we get back."

"Where's Cody?"

"Oh, he's in the bathroom scrubbing the tub. He said if anyone walked in there right now, it would look like we had tried to recreate the shower scene from _Psycho_."

Carey laughed and shook her head. "I'm not surprised...Just remember, he's all yours now."

Later that night, Zack and Maya finally showed up – mostly to get a free dinner but also to switch out cars again. And both were surprised that Cody and Bailey smelled normal again.

"I don't know how you did it, but its a major improvement, Codester..." He paused. "Anyone else have the sudden urge for a Bloody Mary?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Zack..."

Maya ignored them. "So, now that we can stand to be around you now, how is medical school going?"

Bailey smiled. "Its challenging, but nothing we haven't been able to handle so far. I mean, even Human Anatomy isn't as bad as it seems."

Zack grinned. "That must be so cool to get to cut up an actual body."

Cody just looked at his brother. "Really? You think that? This from the same guy who threw up when we had to dissect frogs in high school?"

Zack glared at him. "I had a stomach virus that week!"

"Uh huh..." Cody turned to Maya. "I'm not sure what was greener...Zack's face or the frog."

Maya laughed as Zack grumbled under his breath. "Yeah, well...at least our car doesn't reek of formaldehyde!"

Of course, the next day, that was taken care of too. They took the car to a car wash and cleaned it out thoroughly. By the time they left there, the car smelled like vanilla. The next couple of days, Cody and Bailey did as little as possible. They enjoyed sleeping in and just hanging around the apartment all day. Of course, on Tuesday, they went with Carey to do the shopping for Thanksgiving dinner. And Bailey couldn't help teasing him by reminding him that a year ago, he was sneaking out buying her engagement ring.

On Wednesday, they spent the morning preparing everything like they had for the past four years. And by Thursday morning, the kitchenette was full of delicious aromas. By that afternoon, everything was ready to eat, and Carey, Arwin, Zack, Maya, Cody, Bailey, London and Todd were all sitting around the table ready to eat. Zack turned to his brother.

"Lets see your new slicing and dicing skills, Bro. I want to see you in action."

"Sorry, Zack...I left my scalpel back at school."

Zack's eyebrows raised. "You actually have your own scalpel? Can I borrow it sometime?"

"Yeah, Bailey and I both have our own. We have all of our own equipment now. And no, you can't borrow any of it..."

"Well, enough talk and start cutting anyways. I'm starved!"

With that, they all dug in to the meal. And like usual, everyone took a nap soon after they ate way too much.

But Friday was a little different. Even though it was Black Friday, Bailey dragged Cody out to begin their shopping. She reminded him that they could take advantage of the specials and sales that day to hopefully get their Christmas shopping done. Besides, she also reminded him that their last day of school would be on December 18th and that wouldn't leave them much time to do it after the semester. Cody begrudgingly acknowledged she was right, but he wasn't happy about it.

On Saturday, they began packing up to head back to New Haven. They had reading to do on Sunday, so they needed to head back to do that. Plus, they needed to hit the grocery store to get what they would need for the next week. They hugged everyone goodbye and said they would see them again in a few weeks.

As they were driving back, Bailey mused. "How do you think the rest of our semester will go?"

Cody glanced over at her and smiled. "I think it will go just fine. We don't actually have any finals, so that should be one less thing to worry about."

She nodded and smiled. "That's true. Hopefully, we'll have a nice and quiet final few weeks."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: I have finally finished studying for the bar. If I don't know it by now, I'm not going to. Oh well, wish me luck.**__  
><em>_


	88. Spiraling Further Down

_Chapter 88_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Once they got back to New Haven, they made a quick stop at the grocery store before heading home. They figured might as well get it over with so they didn't have to make a trip back out once they got settled back in. Parking the car in the parking garage across the street for them, they loaded themselves up with their luggage and grocery bags and headed home. Once inside, Cody was going to put away their groceries while Bailey went out to their mailbox to get their mail from the past week. And when she came back inside, Bailey had an odd expression on her face.

Cody looked up. "Did we get something interesting while we were gone?"

She paused. "I'm not sure. There was a manilla envelope with just my name on it, but no return address or postage on it. That's kind of weird, isn't it?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah, extremely weird. It means someone put it directly in our mailbox."

Bailey began to open it when Cody stopped her. "Hold on a second." He headed into their home office and came back out with a pair of gloves for her to put on. She gave him a look but he just shrugged. "Just to be on the safe side."

She shook her head and laughed. "No more CSI for you late at nights..." But, she humored him and put on the gloves. When she opened it, she pulled out a collection of documents with a white sheet of paper on top. But what was on it surprised her. Someone had gone to the trouble of cutting letters out of a magazine to spell out a message. And what it said was even stranger. "I thought you should know about your husband and what he's been up to." Bailey put it aside and found there were numerous photographs underneath it. And when she saw them, she was even more confused. Cody noticed this.

"What is it, Bails?"

"Here...look at this." She showed him the note and then the pictures.

He frowned and turned to her. "Why would whoever sent this send you pictures of Zack and Maya?"

Bailey shrugged. "I have no idea. But the message said I should know what you are up to. Either whoever sent it thinks I'm stupid..."

Cody finished her thought. "...or doesn't know I have a twin brother." He shook his head. "This has gotten completely out of control. I think we should call campus security."

"You really think so?"

"Bails. Ignoring him doesn't seem to be working. Look what he's resorted to now. He's trying to make me look bad in your eyes. If we ignore him this time, what level will he stoop to next time?"

Bailey sighed. "You're right. I was hoping this would just all go away."

Cody rubbed her back. "I know. I was too. But..." He stopped in mid sentence and looked at the pictures again. "Bails, do you recognize where these pictures were taken?"

She looked again and gasped. "That's their apartment in Boston! But that doesn't make any sense! How did he know where they live?"

"Look at what they are wearing in the pictures."

Bailey glanced down again. Maya was in a navy blue Yankees sweatshirt and Zack was in red Red Sox one. Cody continued. "I remember that's what they had on when we stopped by their place last Saturday to switch cars. I was going to say something about it to them when they told us we...well, that we smelled bad. Reggie must have followed us all the way to Boston from here."

Realizing he was right, Bailey began freaking out. "Cody, call campus security now!"

Cody did, and thirty minutes later, a campus security officer was at their apartment getting their story. Bailey told him about how creepy Reggie was acting around them, finding the flowers and then the letter and pictures that showed up while they were gone over fall break. The officer tried to be as helpful as he could be, but he said that Reggie hadn't signed or admitted anything. Until their was actual proof, there was nothing he could do. But, he promised he would take the envelope, letter and pictures to see if he could find any finger prints.

When he left, Cody and Bailey just sat on their sofa thinking. Cody turned to Bailey.

"Maybe I should apply for a concealed carry permit?"

She shook her head vigorously. "No way! Cody, I don't want you carrying a gun or for us to have a gun in our home! Its liable to accidentally go off, and then we'd really have a big problem."

He sighed. "I know, but what if he tries to break in to here or do something to hurt you? I don't want us to be caught off guard when he tries something new."

Bailey grabbed his hand. "Baby, I know you don't. But its like the officer said, we can't even prove this was Reggie. For all we know, this could be Moose trying to aggravate us again."

He just looked at her. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

She shook her head. "No, but there's nothing we can do right now."

Cody was getting frustrated. "I know. Its just...I just feel like there should be more that I should be doing. I'm your husband. Its my job to protect you."

She squeezed his hand. "Cody, its our job to protect each other. And I think we've done a pretty good job of that so far. When the guy grabbed me freshman year, you didn't need a gun then to protect me." She smiled at him. "And since that time, you've taught me ways to protect myself. Thanks to you, I always keep a can of bear repellant on me at all times. You even got us the small cans that double as key chains. If he tries something, we'll handle it."

He looked at her hopefully. "You really think so?"

"I know so. We're among one hundred people chosen for the opportunity of a lifetime. I refuse to let this guy ruin it for us. I say we go on with what we would normally do. If he does go crazy, we'll be ready for him."

Cody nodded. "Alright. But don't think I'm going to let you out of my sight for a single second."

She grinned at him. "You'll have to, Sweetie. If you followed me in to the women's locker room, you might be brought up on honor code violations yourself."

He had to laugh at that. "Yeah, I probably would."

"Now, lets enjoy being all alone again. I love the time we get to spend with our families, but nothing will ever top the time I get to spend alone with you. We're all locked up inside here together right now. We'll deal with Reggie tomorrow."

On Monday morning, they returned to class to begin their final three weeks of their first semester of medical school. And like they had agreed, they were going to let anything get in the way of getting their education. Of course, as they headed out that morning, they ran in Ben and Annie.

Bailey smiled. "How as LA?"

Annie sighed. "Warm. And then we came back to this cold and damp weather..."

Cody laughed. "This is nothing. Just wait until you experience your first nor'easter. There's nothing like them."

Bailey nodded. "Its true. I thought I had seen everything a winter storm could do back in Kansas. But, I had never seen anything like one of those."

Ben rolled his eyes. "We've been through earthquakes. After than, everything else is a piece of cake."

Once they arrived at school, they got ready for their first class back. And the rest of the day up through Human Anatomy, they just went about their normal routine. Naturally, they did share with Ben and Annie the secret of tomato juice they had learned, and both said they would give it a try before going home at Christmas. They too had gotten similar reactions from their families about their scent, so they were both most appreciative for the tip. The four of them were sharing stories and laughed about the comments and quips their families had made. And as they were all having a good time before class, someone was watching them.

And Reggie wasn't very happy to see the sight in front of him. Bailey should not be laughing and smiling around Cody anymore. She should be absolutely furious with him. And when she kissed his cheek, he almost went completely ballistic. After what Cody had one, that definitely should not be happening. He was about to storm over there and find out what was going on when their professor told everyone to get to their tables as class was about to begin. And he didn't get a chance to confront them after class as Cody and Bailey were both long gone by the time he changed clothes.

Reggie headed back to his place, and when he got there, he found an officer with campus security there waiting at his door.

"Are you Reggie Wilson?"

He nodded. "That's me."

"Mind if I have a word with you inside?"

Reggie opened the door to his apartment and the officer followed him inside.

"Is everything okay, Officer?"

"Well, that all depends on you..." He held up a baggy with an envelope, piece of paper and photographs in his hand. "Maybe you can explain to me why your fingerprints were found all over these?"

Reggie paused. "I was just trying to help a friend see the truth about her husband. Nothing wrong with that."

"Well...your 'friend' is fearing for her safety thanks to you. She thinks you are stalking her and her husband."

"I would never..."

The officer cut him off. "She doesn't want you bothering her anymore, understand me?"

"But..."

"But nothing! If she reports you again to us, you won't like what happens. Yale is very serious about the safety of its students, and we're not giving any leniency. We're talking restraining order and expulsion from school here. Do you really want to get into Yale School of Medicine only to see it taken away from you?"

Reggie just stared at the officer in surprise. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. "Of course not, but what am I supposed to do? Just forget that her husband is a lying, cheating sleezeball?"

The officer sighed. "Forget she exists. That's what she told me she wants to do about you."

Reggie was incredulous. "But what about what her husband is doing to her?"

The officer just stared back at him. "Well, she didn't seem concerned with what was in these pictures. I don't really care though because that's not any of my business. And its not any of your business either. Leave it and them alone and worry about taking care of yourself. You got that?"

Reggie sighed. "Yes, sir..."

Once the officer left, Reggie just leaned against the door of his apartment. "I'm sorry officer. I can't sit back and do nothing. I have to get Bailey away from that louse of a husband of hers. But I am going to have to be more subtle about this. I need a new plan..."

The last few weeks of classes before Christmas break went by with no problems. Walking on campus, Cody and Bailey could see the other students who still had finals getting more and more stressed, and it brought back fond memories for them. But, they weren't sure they liked it when the rest of campus left for Christmas break a week before they did. The last week on campus, the only ones still there were med students and other grad students.

"I've never seen campus this deserted before..."

Cody shook his head. "Me either. I'm not sure I like that we only have two weeks for break."

"I know. Fortunately, New Year's Day is on a Friday, so we don't have to be back here till the following Monday."

"I know..." He grinned. "And then when we get back, we have two weeks before our PR qualifying exam. And a week after that, it will be our our Human Anatomy qualifier."

She grinned back. "I can't wait! We should start preparing from them over break. One more thing...remind me that we need to pick up more tomato juice Friday night. We have another...shower scene to recreate."

"Count on it."

She smiled. "You ready for your first Christmas in Kettlecorn? I have to forewarn you though. With my nieces and nephews ripping into Christmas presents all excited to see what Santa brought them, it can kind of get chaotic."

He smiled back. "I'm used to it. Zack's done the same thing for as long as I can remember."

Bailey laughed. "For some reason, I can actually picture that. Wonder if he's been doing any special shopping for Maya like what you did for me last year?"

Cody shrugged. "No clue. He hasn't said anything to me if he has. Speaking of which though...hope you aren't expecting anything as exciting for New Year's Eve this year. Last year was kind of special one time occasion..."

She smiled. "Nah. Not sure you could ever top that."

"Is that a challenge, Mrs. Martin?"

"Nope. As long as I get to spend that evening with my husband and kiss him at midnight, that's all I could ever ask for..."

Both continued walking back to their apartment talking about their upcoming break not noticing that they had been followed and their conversation eavesdropped on. But when Reggie heard Bailey talk about New Year's Eve, he stopped and smiled.

"Don't worry, Bailey. I have a feeling this New Year's Eve will be just as memorable for you..."

__To be Continued...__


	89. One Semester Down

_Chapter 89_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody and Bailey's last week of classes went by smoothly. Of course, in their last class of the semester in both Professional Responsibility and Human Anatomy, their professors did remind them that their qualifying exams would be held a few weeks once they got back. But, they also reminded them that the exams were pass/fail so not to completely freak out and spend their whole breaks studying. Even so, Cody and Bailey weren't going to take them lightly and planned to take their books with them. That night, they made one more trip to the grocery store for as much generic tomato juice they could find and some Tide with Fabreze. They wanted to cleanse themselves and their clothes of the formaldehyde as they could before packing up to head out for Christmas vacation.

Their trip home was a little different this time though. Before leaving their apartment, they printed out a map of all ways to get to the interstates and to Boston from their apartment. Instead of taking I-95, they decided to head north on I-91 over to I-84 and take the Massachusetts Turnpike in to Boston. And driving around New Haven, they took many strange turns attempting to allude Reggie if he was trying to follow them again. By the time they got back to Boston, Bailey was laughing. Cody turned to her.

"What's so funny?"

"After all the evasive maneuvers we did, we still go back to Boston eight minutes quicker than we normally do by taking I-95."

Cody was surprised. "We did?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, we did. I guess we learned a faster if less scenic way back to Boston now." She smiled. "Maybe this is a sign that we've got some good luck coming our way?"

He smiled back. "I hope so, Bails. Maybe it means our second semester will be less drama free than our first?"

"I hope so too, Cody...I hope so too."

When they got to the hotel, they parked the car and headed upstairs to the 24th floor. The plan was to spend through the 23rd of December in Boston before flying out that day for Kettlecorn. They would return back on the 2nd of January and immediately head back to New Haven. When they got to the suite, they were surprised to see Zack sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Not that we're not happy to see you, but we thought you'd be over at your place with Maya. Having withdrawals from this couch?"

Zack just shook his head. "She's gone to New York to see her parents for a few days. She'll be back day after tomorrow though."

Bailey paused. "And why didn't you go with her?"

Zack paused and turned off the TV. "Because I need both of your help with something. I already asked London, and she agreed. But I'd like you two to go and help me too."

"Help with what?"

He sighed. "I need your help with some shopping..."

Cody just looked at his brother when realization hit him. "Shopping...or shopping like I did last Thanksgiving?"

"The second one..."

Cody laughed. "Congratulations, Zack..."

Bailey smiled too. "We're happy for you. I look forward to finally having a sister-in-law."

Zack looked at her. "Finally?"

She shrugged. "All I have is sisters, and as far as I know, none of them will be entering into a same-sex marriage. Especially not in Kansas."

Zack shook his head and laughed. "Well, anyways, I have you two to thank and blame for this."

Cody just looked at his brother again. "You're blaming us?"

"Yeah, your wedding had a big impact on me last year. It wasn't so bad, and you're still the same Cody I remember. It hasn't changed you any..."

Cody laughed. "Zack...I didn't join a cult. I just got married."

"Yeah, well...you make it seem like its not so bad."

"Because its not."

Bailey nodded. "Cody's right. Other than I have a different last night, we're now each other's next of kin and some tax breaks we're really looking forward to, we're still the same people we were before."

Zack sighed again. "Are you going to help me tomorrow or not?"

Bailey grinned as she answered that one. "We'd love to help. What kind of budget do we have to work with?"

"I have the same amount of money Cody did. He had..."

She cut him off. "Stop. Forget I asked that. Its not how much the ring costs but rather the meaning you have when you give it..."

Cody frowned. "Where did you get that kind of money anyways?"

"I borrowed it from Dad. Actually, I was going to borrow it, but when he found out what it was for, he just gave me the money and told me not to screw it up."

"Okay...Well, when are you planning on proposing then?"

Zack paused to think. "Actually, its one of two surprises I have for her on graduation day..."

"What's the other?"

"The fact that I'll be graduating with her..."

Cody just looked at his brother in shock. "You...you...you're going to be graduating college early? You're the one who had to go to summer school just to graduate junior high!"

Zack smirked at him. "Well, that wasn't the last time I've been in summer school. I took two classes last summer at nights and I've taken an extra class last semester and will do the same this next one..."

"How did I not notice you doing that?"

"Because you were so wrapped up in planning your wedding. When I would get home about ten o'clock, you were always on the phone with Bailey."

Cody frowned. "Okay...fair enough. But how did Maya not notice you coming home late at night?"

"Because both of my classes finished before we moved in together..."

Cody just shook his head. "Zack, I don't think I have ever been more proud of you than I am right now."

"Thanks."

Bailey smiled. "We're both proud of you. So, what kind of ring do you have in mind?"

"I have no idea..." He turned to Cody. "Did you know what you were looking for?"

"Not a clue. That's why I took London along with me so I would have someone who knew what they were looking at." He smiled. "Fortunately, she actually approved of the one I thought was perfect for Bailey."

The next day, the four headed again for Jared's so Zack could see what he wanted. Bailey wanted to actually help look, but Cody held her back. He reasoned that Zack knew Maya better than they did, so he would have an idea of what she would like better. Based on that, Bailey had to agree. And off at another case, they just saw London looking at more and more earrings. But, they didn't notice her telling the salesperson that she would do the same thing for Zack that she did for Cody. Instead, Cody and Bailey just looked at other things. Jokingly, he told her if she saw anything she really liked, he would put it on layaway and might be able to afford it in about five years. Bailey just rolled her eyes at him.

Finally, Zack found one he thought was perfect, and Cody and Bailey agreed it was a very nice ring. But the final determination came when London pulled out her jeweler's eye to examine it.

Bailey whispered to Cody. "She carries one of those around with her?"

Cody paused and whispered back. "Yeah, but her carrying around one of those is the same as us carrying around calculators."

Bailey considered that and nodded while London continued examining the ring. She turned to Zack.

"Not bad. Like I told Cody, I'd be a little upset if Todd gave me one like this, but I think Maya will love it."

Zack paused. "Thanks...I think."

Of course, the matter of ring size came up, but Zack had remembered Cody telling him that would be a question. So, he had brought in a couple of Maya's rings she hadn't taken to New York for them to use to size the ring. With that done, he was told he could pick the ring up in a few weeks.

"Now, all I have to do is find a place to hide it..."

"Ask Mom to had it in the suite or Esteban to hide it in the hotel safe. That way Maya won't accidentally find it at your place."

Zack nodded. "Good idea."

Cody grinned. "And don't worry. You still have six months before you plan to propose. You won't start getting nervous and freaking out until the week before. Trust me on that one..."

Zack sighed. "Great...I remember you telling me about that on the morning of your wedding."

A couple of days later, a pre-Christmas celebration was held in Boston when Maya was back and before Cody and Bailey headed for Kettlecorn. Carey didn't like that they wouldn't be there for Christmas morning, but she had to keep reminding herself that she had had them for all of Thanksgiving Break. And she realized that Cody and Bailey had other commitments and two families they had to split their time with. So, she accepted it the best she could as she knew they were trying to be as fair as they could.

On the 23rd, they flew out of Boston and landed in Kettlepot that afternoon. And there to pick them up were Clyde and Eunice.

"Well, well...if it isn't my prodigal daughter and son-in-law..."

Bailey laughed. "Momma..."

Clyde laughed too. "Its good to see you both again. How is medical school going?"

"Its going good. We have some qualifying exams coming up in a few weeks, so we might spend a few days studying..."

Eunice smiled. "Do what you have to do. I'm just glad you two don't smell like formaldehyde. Carey said it was pretty bad..." She laughed. "Glad you two took more tomato juice baths before coming."

Cody shook his head and sighed. "Thanks, Mom..."

Clyde clasped him on the back. "Don't worry about it. I've been sprayed with a skunk more times that I can remember growing up, so I've had my fair share of them too." He paused. "You would think I would have stopped going around them after a while..." He shrugged. "Oh well..."

Eunice just looked at her husband and shook her head. "Anyways...lets get you two back to the house. There are people there who can't wait to see you two again."

And there were. Everyone was there. They got to see Grammy again as well as several of Bailey's sisters. In particular, her sister Shelly was there with her newborn daughter who was crying constantly. She was sitting on the couch when Cody and Bailey came into the living room getting antsy because she really needed to get up. Seeing her sister and newest brother-in-law, she stood up.

"Cody, would you hold Andrea for me so I can hug my sister...and go to the bathroom?"

She practically shoved the baby into Cody's arms before she quickly hugged Bailey and ran for the bathroom. But the funny part was the baby stopped crying almost immediately when she was placed in Cody's arms. Bailey just smiled at him, and when Shelly returned, she was confused.

"What's going on? I don't hear any crying!"

Bailey grinned. "Because I think she likes her Uncle Cody."

Cody just looked down surprised as his niece was cooing and smiling at him. He looked up at Bailey. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

She smiled at him. "I think this is another sign that you're supposed to join me in pediatrics."

"I don't know about that. There was this one time Zack and I helped Maddie watch the kids at the Tipton Daycare. I ended up being tied up with duct tape."

Shelly laughed. "I think you're safe from that with Andrea. But, since she's not crying, you're holding her until she falls asleep...Bro."

Everyone laughed at that before Grammy turned to Cody. "How is your family doing back in Boston?"

"Pretty good actually. Just the other day, Bailey and I helped Zack pick out an engagement ring for his girlfriend Maya."

Clyde sighed. "Your parents are so lucky. Going ahead and getting him out of the way now too. I still have three more to get through..."

His three youngest daughters just turned and glared at him. "Daddy!"

Bailey turned back to Shelly. "Actually, there is something I wanted to ask you about. Do you remember someone you went to school with by the name of Reggie Wilson? He's in our first year class and said he knew you..."

Shelly paused to think. "Reggie Wilson. Name doesn't sound familiar..." She paused. "Wait a minute. Kind of a short guy with glasses?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, that's him."

Shelly busted out laughing. "Oh my gosh! You're going to med school with Milhouse!"

Cody and Bailey just looked at her confused. "Huh?"

"We named him after the character on _The Simpsons_ because he reminded us of him. He was a creepy little dude who was constantly professing his love for all of the girls in my class. We mostly just tried to ignore him, but he vowed we'd all be sorry for not taking him seriously. Most of the time, some of us would be talking, and he would walk up and act like he was part of the conversation. When we noticed him doing that, we would just walk away."

Bailey sighed. "I've tried to ignore him too and just walk away, but it seems like he's not accepting that anymore. He's practically stalking me and harassing us."

That caught Clyde's attention. "What do you mean?"

Bailey and Cody filled everyone in on Reggie's weird behavior around them, the flowers and the envelope they received.

Grammy just burst out laughing. "That boy was stupid enough to send you pictures of Cody's twin brother? I admit my eyes aren't what they used to be, but even I could tell them apart easily. Cody's the handsome twin."

Cody smiled. "Grammy, I always knew there was a reason you and I got along so well."

__To be Continued...__


	90. Just When You Thought It Was Safe

_Chapter 90_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

After Cody and Bailey discussed the Reggie situation with the family a little more, Clyde and their brothers-in-law said to let them know if there was anything they could do to help. If someone was bothering someone in the family, they would have to deal with all of them. But Cody and Bailey said they would handle it and were actually hoping it was no longer an issue as they hadn't had any dealings with Reggie since right after Thanksgiving. Besides, their focus was temporarily elsewhere as Shelly asked them if they minded babysitting the baby for a few hours so she could finish wrapping Christmas presents. And since the baby was quite content being held by her Uncle Cody, Bailey readily agreed.

Of course, them watching little Andrea caused them to get a lot of little teasing comments. And no one was worse than Grammy.

"Seeing how well you two are with her, you two might want to begin thinking of having one of your own..."

Bailey looked up at her. "What happened to no pressure on us to have a baby until we were done with medical school?"

Grammy laughed. "That offer came from your mothers...not me. Besides...I ain't getting any younger, and I'd like to see what a child from you two would be like."

Bailey just shook her head. "Grammy! While we look forward to having children, they aren't in our immediate future."

Grammy turned to Cody. "And you're okay with that?"

Cody looked up and tried to stay out of the conversation. "Huh? I was concentrating on the baby. Did I miss something?"

Clyde tried to keep from laughing, but Grammy just gave Cody a look. "I don't think so. I know very well you heard what I said!"

Cody grinned. "Sorry, Grammy. I agree with Bailey on this one. Our goal is to finish medical school together first. Plus, right now, we aren't exactly in the best financial situation to be having a child. But when the time is right, I look forward to us having children. Especially if they are as beautiful as their mother."

Clyde mumbled to himself. "Nice save..."

Grammy nodded. "Alright...I might not like it, but I can accept that." She turned to Bailey. "You just remember that you're married to a twin. So, don't be surprised if you have a pair yourself."

Bailey just smiled. "If that's what we're blessed with, so be it..."

Eunice popped in and smiled. "I don't know. I've seen first hand what you two are like with hardly any sleep. Twins would just double that. I wouldn't want to be your patient when you are like that..."

"Mom!"

"Its true, Honey. I was worried that you two were going to miss your connecting flight in Dallas."

Bailey shook her head and turned to Cody. "I think we're being picked on..."

Cody shrugged. "Besides this bundle I'm holding, I'm the newest member of the family. I figured it was just good natured hazing that everyone got. Besides...I know better than to get on the bad side of my in-laws."

Bailey rolled her eyes but Clyde laughed again. "Cody...you've already got being a husband down pat..."

"Daddy!"

"We're just teasing you both, Pumpkin. We haven't seen you in almost four months. We have to catch up a little."

Fortunately, they were soon relieved of their babysitting duties, but Shelly warned them that if little Andrea got really fussy again, she was bringing her right back over to them. And by then, it was getting a little late, and since they were a little bit jet lagged, they went ahead and went to bed. But before they went to sleep, Bailey turned to Cody and smiled.

"You were amazing with her, you know that?"

He shrugged. "Pure, 100% dumb luck."

"I don't think so. Andrea probably just figured out what I've known for a long time. Being held in your arms is very comforting and makes me feel so safe. I bet our own kids will learn that feeling real soon after their born."

He smiled at her. "I sure hope so."

She smiled back. "They will. I look forward to when the time is right for us."

"Me too. And I meant it when I said I hope they take after their mother."

Bailey grinned. "Well...there might be a couple of traits I hope they pick up from you..."

The next day was Christmas Eve, and Cody and Bailey had some wrapping of their own to finish for the next day. But once done, it was relaxing to just sit back and relax. Cody even made his own recipe for egg nog for them that Grammy Pickett insisted be 'spiced up' a little. After a couple glasses of the enhanced version, everyone was singing Christmas carols around the fireplace. Well, that was until they went to church for the Christmas Eve service. And people kept coming up to Cody and Bailey to tell them how much they enjoyed their wedding and to see how medical school was going.

Christmas in Kettlecorn was an adventure. All of the young kids tore into their presents as everyone watched to see what they got. And then it was time for the older folk to exchange gifts before everyone gathered around for a big breakfast. Once that was done, it was nap time for the younger and some of the older members of the family. For others, it was a chance to visit with everyone and catch up with them.

"So, you guys are really cutting up a dead body?"

Bailey nodded to her sister Emily. "Yeah. Its called Human Anatomy."

"And doesn't that gross you out?"

"A little at first, but we've haven't seen the body's face yet, so we can stay detached."

Eunice just shook her head. "I know it shouldn't be any different considering what we've done to some of the animals around here, but I don't think I could do it."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, but for better or worse, we got used to it. Besides, we only have three weeks of it left."

Bailey smiled. "Which means if it makes you squeamish, you might want to knock before you come into our room tomorrow. We'll have pictures of corpse we've taken out studying them."

Everyone said they would definitely remember to knock then. After that, the menfolk grabbed Cody away as the NBA games were about to begin. The first game was the Mavericks at Heat to be followed by the Celtics at the Lakers. Cody had no real interest in the first game, but he was glued to the set rooting for his Celtics. After the Celtics had won thanks to a questionable sixth foul on Dwight Howard, they all settled in to watch some meaningless bowl game from Hawaii between two non-BCS schools.

The next several days, Cody and Bailey were holed up in their room studying for their imminent qualifying exams. The knew they had to take advantage of the free time they actually had while they had it, so both were putting in at least ten hours a day studying and quizzing each other. And they did that for five straight days. Sure, they still spent some time with their family, but their family understood why they were studying so hard.

But once New Year's Eve got there, the books were packed away. And they kept up a tradition they had started their sophomore years – a private anniversary celebration out in the storm shelter.

"Can you believe its really been four years since we were locked down here?"

Bailey smiled. "Did you have any idea that day that this is where we would be four years later?"

Cody paused and smiled back. "I had dreams that we would, but I was ready to accept that it would only be a dream. I wake up everyday thankful that it wasn't though."

"Me too. Can I let you in on a little secret?"

"Of course."

"I still get the same charge now that I did the first time we kissed."

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah..."

He grinned. "In need of a recharge?"

"Uh huh. My battery is really low though. May take a while to fully recharge me."

"Well...its a dirty job, but someone's got to do it..." And with that, he leaned in and kissed Bailey.

She grinned back at him. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Cody paused trying to figure out what she was talking about. And then he saw the light. Literally. He noticed the light above them was still on. He laughed. "My apologies..." He reached up and pulled the cord leaving them in darkness again.

That evening, Cody almost had to laugh to himself at the situation he found himself in. It reminded him of that day four years ago except he found himself on the other side of things. Bailey's youngest sister, Sally, was being picked up for the New Year's Eve dance by her newest beau. And the young man showed up at the house looking as nervous as could be to finally meet her family. When Clyde saw this, Cody could see him begin to grin and his eyes light up. But he hid the grin from the boy and went into full fledged protective father mode. And Cody immediately recognized the speech Clyde was giving – it was similar to one he had given to Cody four years prior.

And that's when Cody decided to show some mercy to the young man. He walked up behind him.

"Here...You'll need this to give to Sally."

The young man looked at Cody in surprise as he looked at the rose in his hand. "Huh?"

Cody smiled. "A little tradition around here that the Pickett ladies be given a rose on New Year's Eve. Trust me, if you give this to Sally, it will make you look better in her eyes...and in the eyes of the other ladies in the family."

The young man nodded, exhaled and had a small smile. "Thank you..."

"Don't worry about it. I was in your shoes four years ago. Take it from me, the Pickett girls are worth it."

About that time, Sally came down the stairs, and she beamed at her date when he gave her the rose. "Thank you so much, Linus."

And with that, they were out the door and off. Once they left, Clyde turned to Cody and shook his head.

"Had to take away all my fun, didn't you?"

Cody laughed. "Well, I know exactly how he was feeling. Figured I'd show him some compassion. Besides, I think he's still scared of you. So, you'll still be able to have your fun."

"I've already got you broken in right. Just want to make sure I get the next ones too."

"Well, if you need some help with him, just let me know. I never had any sisters growing up, but now have nine sisters-in-law, hopefully soon to be ten. So, while I don't know how useful I'd be, I'll do what I can..."

Clyde grinned. "I appreciate that. That's the good thing about having ten daughters. As the older ones get married and find their own fellers, I gain an army to help look after the younger ones. You passed the test, lets see if this one does too."

Cody laughed again. "Thanks...I think."

"Well, at least you're not as nervous as you were last year. Any surprises we should know about?"

"Not that I know of..."

Clyde was about to say something else when their wives started coming down the stairs. After giving each of them their roses and getting kisses in return, they were off themselves. And when they got to the Hornswaggle's barn, Cody and Bailey made their way inside to mingle about. Even more people came up to them to congratulate them on their wedding and ask about medical school, but by then, they had their standard answer down pat. Eventually, they got some time to themselves alone on the dance floor.

As the evening progressed, they finally took a break from the dance floor.

"How does a corna-cola sound?"

Bailey smiled. "I'd love one."

Cody kissed her and headed off to get them some drinks. Bailey saw some people she went to high school with and started catching up with them. But that was before she felt someone tapping her on the shoulder. Turning around, she found herself face to face with Reggie.

She shook her head and sighed. "What do you want?"

"I had to be here tonight. I finally figured out what was going on. That Cody is forcing you to stay with him, right?"

Bailey just gave him a look. "What the feathers are you talking about?"

"But don't worry. After tonight, everything will be alright and you'll be free of him once and for all!"

__To be Continued...__

**AN: I'm back! The bar exam didn't kill me, but it came close. I felt like I went to a gun fight with a spork as my weapon. The essays I at least could spot the issues and BS my way through, but the multiple choice were impossible. So, while I've finished the test for now, I have to wait a few months to see if I passed or will have to take it again. I hope I passed because I NEVER want to have to go through that ever again. Right now, it hurts to sit down. I feel violated. **__  
><em>_


	91. Turning the Tables

_Chapter 91_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Bailey just looked at Reggie in bewilderment. What the feathers was he talking about? But she didn't care. All she knew was that she was sick and tired of him trying to butt in to her and Cody's life. In her mind, this was the last straw. One way or another, he was going to learn to leave her and Cody alone right then and there. She would prefer to do it the easy way, but she had no qualms about doing it the hard way if that's what she was forced to do. So, she just glared at him.

"Look. I don't know who you think you are or what you're think you're doing but just stop! You don't know Cody, and you certainly don't know me!"

He just gave her a funny look. "Of course I know you, Bailey. You and I are two of a kind. We're just alike."

She shook her head in frustration. "No, we're not! The only ways we are similar is that we both were born in Kettlecorn and we both go to Yale Medical School. Other than that, nothing! You don't know me, and I certainly have no interest in knowing you. So, just leave me alone!"

But Reggie was undeterred. "I don't believe that. I do know you, Bailey. Your sister was always talking about how you couldn't wait to get out of Kettlecorn and chase your dreams. This place was never for you. I was the same way! Don't you see...we're perfect for each other."

Bailey almost felt like laughing. "Ummm. No, we're not!"

"But it was fate that brought us together! What were the odds we both ended up at Yale Medical School? Astronomical. But we did end up there together. That should tell you something."

"Look...I ended up at Yale Medical School because Cody and I both liked living in New Haven, and we both got scholarship offers there. Its a great school, but we got offers to other good schools like Harvard and Johns Hopkins. But you know what...I do believe in fate. Fate was what brought me and Cody to Yale four years ago. Fate is what caused me to be dropped off right outside his dorm window that first day of school."

Reggie just shook his head. "But he's not good for you!"

Bailey was getting even angrier. "You don't even know him!"

"I've seen enough! I saw him out gallivanting with another woman! I took pictures of it and sent them to you!"

Bailey smirked. "Well, I knew you were behind that. Thanks for admitting it."

"Why are you making me the bad guy here? I'm the one who's trying to help you!"

Bailey just looked at him. He was teetering close to going over the edge into full fledged insanity. "You aren't trying to help me. You're trying to help yourself. I don't know what kind of sick, twisted fantasies you have in thick head of yours, but leave me out of them."

"But..."

She cut him off. "But nothing! When I get back to school on Monday, I'm turning you into the school's honor council and campus security! I hope they expel you and lock you up and throw away the key!"

Reggie just looked at her. "Why would you do that? I'm doing all of this for you. I'm just trying to show you what your husband is really like. What kind of control does he have over you? Is he blackmailing you? Is he threatening your family? Just tell me, and I'll help you."

Bailey just shook her head. She had to find a way to end this. "Look, I love him, and he loves me. And you have no idea what you are talking about. He isn't blackmailing me or threatening anyone. You're the one who followed us to Boston and then are trying to falsely accuse Cody of something he would never do! You're the one who needs help!"

"But..."

At that moment, Cody returned with two corna-colas. And when he saw Reggie standing there, the smile on his face disappeared.

"Did he follow us again?"

Bailey turned to him. "I think so. He's lost his frigging mind. It appears he's said bye bye to the real world a long time ago..."

Cody just shook his head and glared at Reggie. "Alright, pal...I'm sick and tired of you bothering my wife and I. I'm ending this right now..."

Bailey grabbed his arm. "I already told him I was reporting him to the honor council when we get back to school. He can explain to them why he's stalking and slandering other students..."

He nodded. "You sure that's all you want to do to him? Your Dad did say we could borrow some tar and feathers if we wanted to..."

Bailey smiled. "As much fun as that sounds, I don't want us to stoop to his level..."

Reggie just looked at them. "I can't believe this!" He grabbed Cody by his shirt. "Can't you see what you're doing to her? She deserves someone who will treat her like a queen!"

Cody glared back at him. "You're right. She does. And I do my best to treat her as such." He pushed Reggie away. "But you touch me again, and I'll treat you like the knave you are..."

Reggie glared back at him. "Just wait till I show this whole town what you're really like!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out an pocket size air horn and blasted it. And it was loud enough to get everyone's attention. The band stopped playing and everyone looked over in Reggie's direction. He stood up on a chair as Cody and Bailey were taken aback trying to figure out what he was doing.

"Good people of Kettlecorn. I ask that you lend me your ears. We have a scoundrel in our midst who has been fooling everyone here for a long time. He has pretended to be a good guy, but I'm about to prove to you all what kind of a person he really is!"

And with that, he pulled out a small remote control from his pocked and pressed a button. A projector turned on, and the same pictures that he had sent Bailey were not being projected and scrolled through against one of the barn's walls.

A few people in the crowd gasped, but then most of them began laughing. Reggie looked around as he couldn't understand that.

"Why are you people laughing? What is so funny about seeing this SOB stepping out and kissing another woman who isn't his wife?"

Out of everyone, Shelly was the one who spoke up. "Milhouse, you are still an idiot!"

He glared at her. "Don't call me Milhouse!"

"Well, if you didn't continue to do stupid things, maybe we wouldn't. Why are you showing everyone here pictures of my brother-in-law's twin brother and his girlfriend?"

Reggie just stood there for a minute. "Twin brother?"

Bailey just shook her head. "Yes, Cody's twin brother, Zack. And that's his girlfriend Maya he's with. They've been together about as long as Cody and I have."

Reggie swallowed as everyone began pointing and laughing at him. "I knew that. Twin brother. Of course." He was hoping everyone would just see it as a joke he was pulling on them.

But one person wasn't laughing. Cody. But he did have an almost evil grin on his face.

"Is there a police officer or sheriff's deputy here?"

When a guy raised his hand and said he was, Cody continued. "I'd like to have him arrested please."

Reggie stared back at Cody. "For what? I didn't do anything illegal!"

Cody laughed. "Sure you did. Its called criminal defamation. Kansas Statutes Annotated 21-4004. Criminal defamation is communicating to a person orally, in writing, or by any other means, information, knowing the information to be false and with actual malice, tending to expose another living person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule; tending to deprive such person of the benefits of public confidence and social acceptance; or tending to degrade and vilify the memory of one who is dead and to scandalize or provoke surviving relatives and friends. You just tried to defame my character. And you just admitted to everyone here that you new that was my brother. So, that proves you did it with malice intended. I have a barn full of witnesses. But don't worry, its only a Class A misdemeanor, so only a year in jail plus fine."

Reggie began panicking. "But...but..."

"Don't worry though. You'll get used to seeing the inside of a court room. I'm also going to sue you for slander. And then there will be your hearing before the Yale Medical School Honor Council. Sure looks bad that you will have an arrest for criminal defamation on your record. I'm sure the medical boards will not look kindly on that..."

Reggie was almost desperate now. "There must be something we can work out here..."

Cody paused and turned to Bailey. "What do you think? You feeling generous, Sweetie?"

She smiled at him. "I really shouldn't, but it is still the Christmas season. He's not shown any goodwill towards us though..."

"I'll do anything you want!"

Bailey paused to think. "Codykins, I have an idea..."

"I'm all ears, Bails."

She grinned. "Actually, we shouldn't interrupt the rest of the party. Lets all step outside. Judge Hallen, would you mind stepping out with us?"

Five minutes later, Bailey, Cody, the judge and Reggie were all standing outside the barn while the party resumed inside. Reggie wasn't happy about this, but he knew Cody and Bailey held all of the cards right now.

The judge turned to Bailey. "You had an idea?"

Bailey smiled. "I sure do. Call it a suspended prosecution. The way I figure it, there are criminal charges of defamation, stalking and harassment here in Kansas. And that doesn't even include potential charges in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Plus, there is a civil claims of slander, harassment and invasion of privacy."

Reggie interrupted. "Now wait a minute here!"

Bailey paused and shrugged. "Okay, we can let them haul you off to jail right now."

He sighed. "Go on."

"Now, I submit that we are willing to forgo having him prosecuted right now in exchange for the following. First, you will head back to New Haven immediately, inform the school that you have a family emergency and will need to leave. Second, you will agree that in exchange for us not prosecuting you right now, you will never be within ten miles of us ever again. If you are caught doing that, the suspended prosecution will end and you will immediately be arrested."

Cody spoke up. "Naturally, you will agree to waive any statutes of limitations."

Bailey smiled at him. "Right."

"Also, I think we should require him to undergo counseling and have the counselor submit records to the judge. And if he misses one session, the deal is off." He turned to Reggie. "You are one sick puppy!"

Bailey nodded. "Good call, Sweetie." She turned to the judge. "We'll have an order to you first thing in the morning."

Judge Hallen nodded. "Lets say nine o'clock. I want to be home in time for the Outback Bowl."

Reggie spoke up. "Wait a minute! I haven't agreed to any of this yet!"

Cody shrugged. "Alright. Well, we'll have you escorted to jail right now then. And a complaint to the honor council first thing Monday morning."

Reggie just glared at him. "Fine. I'll sign it." He turned to Bailey. "I thought you were different from everyone else in this town! I can't believe you are doing this..."

She smiled. "I am. But just because I am doesn't mean I want anything to do with you. I already have my feller right here. Again, you don't know me and have never known me. You are getting what you deserve for trying to interfere in my life!" She looped her arm with Cody's. "I think we should head back inside. I want to dance some more, and we only have an hour before midnight."

Cody smiled back at her. "Anything you say, Sweetheart."

Once back inside, everyone paused as they walked in. But Bailey briefly explained what had happened, and the party was ready to be continued. They finally got the corna-colas they had been waiting for and proceeded to dance away the rest of the night.

At midnight, they once again shared a kiss with each other. And unlike last year, they continued hanging around to dance some more. Eventually, they got tired and knew they had a document to draft when they got home. They made their goodbyes, and several of Bailey's former classmates told Bailey they expected to see her back there again next summer for their five year high school reunion. She just told them they would try to make it.

Back home, they grabbed one of their laptops and headed out to the storm shelter to type up the order. They figured out there, they wouldn't keep anyone awake as they typed away and discussed how they wanted to word it. About three in the morning, they finally finished it up, saved it, printed it and sat back in their chairs.

"And we're done..."

Bailey smiled. "Thank goodness this will be over with now." She paused and laughed. "Four years ago, it was Moose. Tonight, it was Milhouse. Wonder who will have to deal with in four years?"

Cody smiled at her. "Hopefully, no one. But there's no guarantee we'll even be here four years from now."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that in four years, we'll hopefully be first year residents. You know, the low men on the totem pole..."

She realized what he meant. "Which means we'll get the worst shifts and probably have to work New Year's Eve..."

"Exactly."

Bailey smiled. "Well, as long as I can find you at midnight to get my kiss, I think I can handle that."

Cody smiled back. "Me too."

She paused and began laughing. "You know. I was just thinking of something you said four years ago..."

"What's that?"

"You suggested we head out to the barn and see what the fuss was all about..."

Cody laughed. "I remember saying that. I was trying to get a rise out of Moose..."

She grinned at him. "Why don't we head over there and really find out? Everyone else is asleep, and if they did catch us, so what? We're married now..."

_To be Continued..._

**AN: One day later, and I still feel violated. I want to find the person who wrote the MC questions and kick them square in the...deep breath...anyways. Here is how worried about cheating/paranoid they were. There was a guy whose job for two days was to stand in the bathroom and watch people who came in and out. Somehow, I think they thought people would somehow cheat in there. I guess with smartphones, I can understand it. But when I'm trying to hurry and get in and out, some dude staring at my back causing stage fright isn't helping me at all!**_  
><em>


	92. Once and For All

_Chapter 92_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Eight that next morning came awfully early for Cody and Bailey. They had gotten more sleep than the night of their wedding, but not by much. But, since it was New Year's Day, everyone else was running on less sleep than usual too, so their constant yawning and sluggish behavior didn't stand out. They told Eunice they would pass on breakfast until later as they had to be heading into town to take care of their problem from the night before. And being half asleep, they thought a brisk walk in the chilled morning air would help wake them up fully. After a quick stop for hot chocolate, they were at the local courthouse a few minutes before nine o'clock. The judge hadn't arrived yet, but since he was the judge, he could show up however late he wanted. But they weren't alone for long as Reggie showed up to. If the weather wasn't cold enough, the chill only increased. And Reggie couldn't stop glaring at them. They tried to ignore him and discuss other matters, but finally he just let it all out.

"I hope you two are happy with yourselves! Thanks to you, I'll never be able to put Yale Medical School on my resume!"

Bailey turned and just began laughing. "Thanks to us? You're the one who got obsessive and began stalking me. If you want to blame someone, look in a mirror."

Reggie just kept glaring. "I made one little mistake and its costing me everything! How was I supposed to know he had a twin brother?"

She just shrugged. "Everybody else in town did. Maybe because they were at our wedding last summer." She smirked at him. "Then again, we only invited our family and friends to it, and you are neither."

Cody smirked at him too. "Maybe you'll learn not to stick your nose in other people's business from now on. We didn't start this, but you better believe we're ready to finish it"

Reggie just shook his head and looked at Bailey. "Really? This is the guy you've chosen to spend your life with? He's not like us, Bailey. He's a big city guy. He doesn't share our values."

She glared at him. "And what values would those be? As far as I know, most people around here don't get obsessive, stalk and harass other people. And in case you didn't notice last night, he's more well liked around here than you are. But I don't even know why I'm saying any of this. My personal life is none of your business or concern. For the last time, you don't know Cody and you don't me. So for you to say you know anything about is is very arrogant on your part!"

Reggis was exasperated. "But I do know you!"

"No, you don't! The Saturday night before classes began was the first time I had ever met you in my whole life! I had a life before that day, and I'll have one long after you're out of it!"

"But your sister told me all about you. About how you wanted to be a pediatrician. About how you couldn't wait to get out of Kettlecorn. They way she talked about you, I knew everything I needed to know."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Oh please. My sister didn't even remember who you were at first. You two were never friends, and I seriously doubt she talked to you about me. I'm guessing you were probably stalking her and one of her friends and heard snippets of their conversation..."

Reggie just gave her a strange look and Cody and Bailey could both tell that Bailey had just hit the nail on the head.

Cody began laughing. "Oh wow. And Zack used to say I was awkward around girls." He turned to Bailey. "I guess the old saying is true...once a stalker, always a stalker."

Reggie glared back at him. "NO! I was just...I was just studying them trying to understand them. I thought if I could learn what girls liked, it would be easier for me to talk to them." He turned to Bailey. "When I heard your sister talk about you, you sounded like the girl for me."

Bailey sighed. "You overheard one conversation someone else had about me...what...about ten years ago? I'm twenty two years old right now. I think I'm a little bit different than I was when I was 12!"

Cody just shook his head and laughed again. "And that may be the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Women aren't all alike. They're like snowflakes. They're all different. My father and my father-in-law have both told me that trying to understand women will get you nowhere. And if Bailey and I have a son, I'll tell him the same thing."

Bailey turned to him in surprise. "Cody!"

He smiled at her. "Its true. I'd rather spend my time understanding you instead of women in general. I've already got the woman of my dreams. And after four years together, I'm still learning new things about you everyday. That's what they meant. And that's what I'd tell our son. Worry about understanding the woman you love. Nothing else really matters."

She smiled back at him. "Well, I guess I can understand that and probably would be good advice. I'm still learning new things about you too all the time. And I look forward to doing that for the rest of our lives."

"Me too. I love everything about you, Bails." He smiled. "Even the things that drive me crazy..." He turned to Reggie. "You see, Bailey and I understand each other. My whole life, I've always been a little bit different. But to Bailey, that's okay. No one will ever understand me the way she does."

Bailey smiled up at Cody. "And no one will ever understand me the way that Cody does. He's not perfect, but he's my Codykins..."

And with that, they leaned in to share a kiss with each other. Just focusing on each other, they completely forgot that they weren't alone. When they finally broke apart, they sheepishly realized Reggie was staring at them with an odd expression on his face.

"You two...you really do love each other, don't you?"

"Hallelujah! He has finally seen the light!"

Cody laughed. "And to answer your question, of course we do. Bailey is as essential to me as the air I breathe."

"And I feel the exact same way about Cody."

Reggie just shook his head. "But...but I thought you and I would be perfect for each other. Raised in the same hometown with the same dreams."

"Cody and I have the same dreams too. But I still don't understand why you would think we were perfect for each other. Again, you don't even know me. What if I had decided to do something else with my life like being a veterinarian? Would that still make us 'perfect' for each other?"

Reggie paused. "I don't know...I..."

Bailey cut him off. "You don't know things that matter to me. And you don't know the little things. You don't know what my favorite color is or what my favorite food is."

Cody smiled. "Or all of the places that she is ticklish." He reached up to tickle her behind her ear.

She giggled and tried to get away from him. "Cody!"

"Fact is I've spent the past four years getting to know Bailey. I know her better than anyone I've ever known before in my life, and that includes my twin brother. I've known him over twenty years, and I still can't figure him out half of the time. I wish I knew what his thought process was, but I don't. He continues to befuddle me. But with Bailey, sometimes I can just look at her and know what is going on in the big, beautiful brain of hers..." Cody wrapped his arm around her waist. "She's my wife and my life, and I will do anything for her and to protect her."

She smiled. "And I'm the same way with him. I know him better than any of my sisters. And he knows me better than they do. Shelly and I were four years apart. We really didn't hang out that much growing up especially with three sisters in between us. But Cody gets me. All of me. I'd do anything for him and to protect him too. If anyone messes with him, they'll have to deal with me." She turned to Reggie. "Hopefully, you've learned that."

Reggie sighed. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

Cody and Bailey both grinned at him. "Nope!"

Reggie just stood there lost in his own thoughts when the judge and his wife finally showed up. The judge lead everyone inside and into his chambers. He wanted to be in and out of there as soon as possible as their was football to be watched. He read what Cody and Bailey had drafted out loud for everyone to hear it, and then he handed them each a pen. Cody and Bailey signed it immediately and handed the pen to Reggie. He stared at them for a minute before he signed it as well. The judge's wife notarized it and made everyone a copy. With that finished and the order filed, everyone headed out. Cody and Bailey just started walking back towards the farm without looking back.

Reggie just watched them walk away as thoughts bounced around his mind. Part of him wanted revenge. But the other part of him rationalized that he had indeed started everything and they had just finished like they said. Maybe they were right. Maybe he really had no idea who she was afterall, and it was crystal clear he would never get to know the real her. He shook his head. Maybe he should take the ordered counseling sessions seriously. Maybe he would find out why he acted the way he did. The one thing he did know was that he no longer had a future in either New Haven or Kettlecorn any longer.

When Cody and Bailey got home, they reheated breakfast and ate it before heading back to bed to get more sleep. When they woke up, the house was full of people watching football and socializing. Before heading downstairs to join them, they figured they should go ahead and get packed up so they didn't have to do it later. And finishing that, they went downstairs to join everyone. And while Yale was not playing in any of the day's bowl games, BC was in the Orange Bowl that night (then again, how hard is it to win the ACC?), so Cody and Bailey rooted for them in honor of Zack and Maya.

The next morning, they were dressed and ready to fly out. Everyone wished they could stay longer, but they understood they had class again on Monday. Bailey told them that their second year would be much the same way as their first, but their third and fourth years, they'd have the whole month of December off, so they would get to spend a lot more time with them then. Unfortunately, she told them they she and Cody would probably be staying in New Haven over the summer. Everyone understood and told them to come back when they could.

After finally departing, they arrived back in Boston around lunch time and stopped at the hotel long enough to have lunch with Carey and Arwin before they had to get back on the road again. And about five o'clock that evening, they arrived back at their apartment in New Haven. After traveling all day, they only had enough energy to order a pizza for dinner and spend the evening lounging around on their couch. And they needed their rest as Sunday was back to the grind. All day, they did their reading for Monday and continued studying for their upcoming qualifying exams.

The first two weeks back were extremely busy ones. Their first year class was now down to ninety-eight people as someone else besides Reggie had left. But neither Cody nor Bailey had any time to think about that. In addition to keeping up with their normal school work, they spent every free minute they had studying for their upcoming exams. They spent most of the Saturdays and Sundays squirreled away in the medical school library so they wouldn't have any other distractions. And they even found a private area so they could quiz each other without disturbing others.

And in addition to that, they had a meeting with the dean of the medical school to discuss their plans for the summer and to begin thinking about their theses. He reasoned the sooner they began thinking and working on it, the sooner they would have it done and more free time their final year to take more electives. They were on their own to think of topics, but their summer plans kind of took care of themselves. Their pre-clinical clerkship adviser was a prominent physician in the Yale New Haven Children's Hospital. She had taken a liking to her little group, and discussed the possibility of two summer positions in her department. And since Ben's dad was the chief of medicine of a hospital in Santa Monica, California, they both already had summer positions lined up. Neither were too ashamed to admit that it was nepotism, but both were also very deserving of the jobs. So, with those two out of the equation, Cody and Bailey had summer jobs if they wanted them. And they did.

After they had been back two weeks, their professional responsibility qualifier was that Saturday morning. And four hours later, they walked out of it having their first medical school exam under their belt. But they had no time to rest on their laurels as they immediately returned to the library to study for their one in Human Anatomy a week later. On Wednesday, the anonymous numbers of those who had passed the PR test were listed, and Cody and Bailey were relieved to find their numbers listed among them. But with one class over, another one began. And on that Monday, though, with PR now over, they began a course in Immunibiology. On Saturday, they were a little bit nervous as it was time for their Human Anatomy qualifier. And as rough as it was, both felt they did pretty well. And on the following Wednesday, their anonymous numbers were again amongst those who passed. And like before, the end of that class brought the beginning of a class in Neurobiology.

With those two classes under their belt, they wouldn't have any more qualifiers until the Saturday before spring break began. And those would be in Immunibiology and Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Though they were done for the time being, they went ahead and began studying for those two a few hours every week.

Of course, by then, Cody had something else on his mind. It was now three weeks until Valentine's Day, and he wanted to do something special for their first Valentine's Day as husband and wife. He was at a loss at what to do when he remembered something. Kurt had done a show up at a ski lodge in the Green Mountains of Vermont, and the lodge had given him a few free passes for weekends. Hoping it wasn't too late, Cody called to try to get a reservation. And fortunately, the lodge had just had a cancellation, and Cody was happy to take their place. Since Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday, he thought it would be suffice for them to stay on Friday and Saturday nights.

That Friday, they got out of class that day at eleven in the morning and began walking home. And as they did, Bailey turned to Cody.

"This weekend is Valentine's Day. What do you think we should do to celebrate it?"

Cody smiled at her. "I think we should head home and pack a couple of bags for the weekend."

She looked at him again. "Why? Are we going somewhere?"

He just kept smiling. "Maybe..."

"Cody...I love you for wanting to do something special, but do you think we should be wasting our money like this?"

He grinned. "Bails, its already covered. All we have to pay for is the gas to get there."

"Okay...where are we going then?"

"Now that is a surprise. Just make you sure you pack warmly..."

After packing quickly, they hopped in the car and headed up I-91. As they continued driving further and further north, Bailey kept asking questions trying to figure out where they were going. But Cody wasn't giving up his secret just yet. When they crossed over into Massachusetts, she thought she knew where they were going. But when they didn't merge on to the Massachusetts Turnpike, she realized she was wrong. When they crossed over into Vermont, she really had no idea where they were going. Finally, after being in the car a little less than three hours, Cody pulled in front of the ski lodge. Bailey looked at it in awe and turned to Cody.

"How in the world did you pull this off?"

He just grinned. "I have my ways. I hope its to milady's approval."

She grinned back. "Definitely. This place is beautiful." She paused. "But I've never been skiing before."

He shrugged. "Me either. We can take lessons though." He smiled again. "See if the French fries and pizza technique actually works." _(This is a South Park reference. If you don't watch the show, you probably won't get it.)_

They headed inside and checked in. They decided to put off any outdoor activities until the next day figuring they should just relax. But building a fire in their room and having dinner by it was definitely on their agenda. A celebratory bottle of champagne was on the agenda too. And with their toasts and the fire to keep them warm, they had no desire to be anywhere else. Then again, they did later find ways to make it a whole lot warmer inside their room.

The next day, they work up early, hit the breakfast buffet, and made their way to the bunny slope for skiing lessons. Of course, they were at least ten years older than most of their fellow classmates, but they didn't care. Even though they spent a lot of time on their backsides early on, by mid morning, they had caught on pretty well...Bailey more so that Cody though. They spent their afternoon on the beginner's slope, and by the time they called it a day, they weren't so terrible any longer.

After a romantic candlelit dinner in the lodge's restaurant, they headed back up to their room again with yet another bottle of champagne. Once the fireplace was going strong, they just sat back to relax in front of it.

"I don't know how you pulled all of this off, but thank you."

Cody smiled at her. "You are are very welcome. I'm just glad you enjoyed it."

Bailey smiled back at him. "I've enjoyed it very much. And its not over yet. We still have a roaring fire to enjoy for one more night."

"Tell me about it...I can almost feel my butt again. After spending so much time sitting on it in the snow earlier, I wasn't so sure I'd ever have feeling in it again."

Bailey laughed. "Awww...my poor baby. Is there anything I can do to make it feel better?"

He leaned in and kissed her. "More of those would be nice..."

"Well, I guess I could start living up to the Hippocratic Oath and doing whatever I can to make my patient feel better."

"I'm in your hands then, Dr. Martin." And with that, Bailey began administering her patient some TLC. Before leaving the next morning, they had a Valentine's Day brunch to replenish their energy. All the way home, neither could have the smile removed from their faces. The weekend away was exactly what they needed and would recharge them to get them through to spring break. Once they got back home, they finished their reading for Monday and sat around their living room again to take it easy and watch sappy romantic comedies on TV.

"You know, Codykins...This weekend made me realize something."

"What's that, Bails?"

She grinned. "We definitely need to use our fireplace a lot more often."

_To be Continued..._

**AN: I know I am getting requests to return to my other stories. And I promise I will. This one is almost done. And then I will return to them. I promise.**_  
><em>


	93. Shot in the Dark

_Chapter 93_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Cody and Bailey were sitting back and enjoying their down time on that Sunday evening, the actual Valentine's Day. They had decided that while the resort had been nice, they didn't need it to to have a true romantic evening. So, still in their pajamas, they cooked a nice dinner together, and dined under candlelight one more time. When they were done eating, they headed back to snuggle on the couch where one of the local channels was airing a romantic movie marathon including several of their favorites. At one point, a new movie started.

"I don't think I've seen this one before. Have you, Codykins?"

Cody looked at the screen. "Flowers and Chocolate? I've sort of seen it."

She looked up at him. "Sort of?"

"Yeah, it was on TV one night while I was in high school. I don't remember too much about it because I saw Zack break down and cry during it. Seeing that sight captured my complete and undivided attention."

Bailey laughed. "Really?" She paused and grinned. "I should so make a call to Maya right now..."

"You could I suppose..." He leaned down and kissed her. "...or you could stay right here on the couch with me..."

"Hmmm...now that I think about it, I like that idea a whole lot more." She leaned up to return the kiss. And that's all it took for them to slowly fall back on the couch to begin slowly making out with each other. Both were taking their time as there was nowhere else they wanted to be. From there, things began escalating as hands began wandering and kisses got more and more passionate. It was turning into a very romantic Valentine's Day...until they heard those infamous words.

"_The WVWN Channel 4 News Team here with a quick weather update. It looks like a nor'easter that was expected to hit the New York City area has now turned north. And due to that, it is now likely to hit the New Haven area sometime overnight. Stay tuned to the WVWN Channel 4 News Team for more updates as they become available."_

Cody and Bailey stopped kissing and looked at each other.

"Nor'easter?"

"Overnight?"

Both groaned.

"There goes our nice romantic evening in..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Uh uh. Just going to delay it a little while. We'll make a quick run to the grocery store to get a view things, and when we get home, it can snow all it wants. And it can get as cold as it wants to because we'll find ways to stay warm..."

Cody smile back. "I love the way you think..." He slowly rose up and offered his hand to help her up. "Come on. We need to change and head to the store. Hopefully, the masses haven't already descended on it."

Ten minutes later, they were dressed again in warm clothes and ready to head out. Zipping up their winter coats, they stepped out into the hallway and were about to head out when Bailey paused.

"We should make sure Annie and Ben know too. This could be their first real nor'easter."

Cody nodded, and Bailey knocked on their door. A few minutes later, Annie opened the door dressed in a long sleeved t-shirt and pajama pants.

"Hey guys...What's up?"

Bailey smiled. "We don't mean to interrupt your Valentine's Day, but we just saw on the new that a nor'easter is due to hit the area overnight. We just wanted to make sure you two were aware since it will be your first one. Right now, we're on our way to the store to make sure we have enough food."

Annie was taken aback. "Really?"

"Yeah, and when one of them is forecasted around here, the stores get kind of crazy."

"Thanks for letting us know. We'll probably see you at the store then."

Cody and Bailey headed outside and soon discovered that the wind had not only picked up but was quite bitter as well. They were thankful now that they had driven back from Vermont earlier that day. Plus, they were thankful now that they parked in a parking garage as their car would not be buried in snow. They still wouldn't be taking it anywhere once the storm hit, but the fact that it wouldn't be buried was a small victory.

Once they arrived at the grocery store, the crowd wasn't as bad as they had feared. But knowing they were probably on their way, they grabbed a cart and began heading through the store. On items they knew they would need, Cody went ahead and grabbed them while Bailey continued on with the cart up and down the aisles. They made sure to get a few things they could prepare without power if necessary, and they bought some dura-logs and batteries to be on the safe side. As they were checking out, Annie and Ben pulled their car in behind theirs.

"This place is a madhouse!"

Cody laughed. "Actually, I've seen it a lot worse on false alarms."

"How did you two manage these in undergrad?"

Bailey smiled. "Fortunately, our dorm had a dining hall inside of it, so we had everything we needed under one roof. We didn't have to head outside into them except to go to class."

Annie looked at her in surprise. "They still had classes? Does Yale ever call them off?"

Bailey paused to think. "In a little over four and a half years here, they've canceled classes..." She looked at Cody. "...once?"

He nodded. "And that was because an ice storm knocked out power to most of campus." He grinned. "We got lucky that our dorm was one of the few on another grid..."

After checking out, both couples headed outside. It was around 10:30, and the snow had begun to fall. And in the few minutes it took for them to walk to their cars, they could have sworn it had started falling harder. Deciding not to take any chances, they followed each other home, and parked their cars as close to the interior of the parking garage as they could. Grabbing all of their bags, they all made their way for their building as fast as they could. After saying goodnight, they all went into their respective apartments.

After finishing unloading everything, Bailey turned to Cody.

"Its almost eleven now..."

He nodded. "I know." He smiled. "Back to the couch?"

She smiled back. "I suppose we could do that...for a little while anyways. Tomorrow is a school day after all...or supposed to be anyways."

About five o'clock that morning, Cody awoke to a noise and slipped out of bed to see what it was - while holding a baseball bat. Heading out into their living room, he couldn't see anything out of place or anything to cause any alarm. He decided to look out the window to see what the weather was doing, and that's when he saw it. Everything outside was covered in a deep blanket of snow. More importantly, every building across the street seemed to be without power. And with the medical school in that direction, the odds of it having power were not good. But knowing how close they were to being out of power themselves, he grew a little concerned.

"Cody?"

He turned around to see Bailey standing there. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, I reached over for you, and you weren't there."

"I heard a noise and got up to check it out. I think I heard everything across the street losing power." He pointed out the window to show her. "I was beginning to wonder how much longer we will."

Bailey looked out their window too and nodded. "I see what you mean. What time is it anyways?"

"A little after five. We still have another hour or so before our alarm is supposed to go off."

"Yeah, but with no certainty of how much longer we'll have power, I saw we go ahead and grab a shower while we have hot water."

Cody nodded. "Good idea." He smiled. "And to save time, we should do so together."

She smiled at him. "I should have known you'd say that."

He shrugged and kept smiling. "So sue me. I can't help it that its one of my favorite things in the world to do."

She grabbed his arm. "Mine too. Come on!"

By a quarter till six, they were both showered and dressed. Each grabbed a bowl of cereal and ate in in front of the television as they watched for current updates with the weather. When the list of local school closings appeared on the screen, both just looked at the other and shrugged. Normally, they wouldn't let themselves consider the idea that school could be cancelled, but if the school was without power, it became a possibility. But, by six thirty, there was still no word one way or the other.

About that time, they got a call from their pre-clinical instructor. Due to the storm, she was canceling their tutorial for that day. Under the circumstances, that was understandable. With the storm, the hospital was likely to be busier than normal with accidents. While it would be a good learning experience for them, they probably would just be in the way. As it got closer to time for them to head to class, they were putting on their coats when they finally heard the words.

"_And due to a lack of power on campus, Yale University will be closed for the day. This includes all graduate and undergraduate programs. Stay tuned to the WVWN Channel 4 News Team for more updates."_

Bailey turned to Cody and smiled. "Well, that finally answers that."

He smiled back as he took off his coat. "I guess so. We have to whole day now to do whatever we want."

"We sure do..." She grinned. "Know what I want to do?"

"Spend the whole day studying for our next qualifying exams?"

"Exactly!"

They both high-fived each other before hanging up their coats. Bailey went to knock on Annie and Ben's door to share with them the news while Cody got their books organized ready for them to study. When Bailey got back, they changed back into their pajamas and headed for their home office to begin studying. But no sooner had they cracked their books then their power went out too.

"Yeah...we really should have known that was going to happen..."

Cody nodded. "We really should have. Give me a minute, and I'll find our flashlights."

He grabbed his cellphone, and used it for light to get around. He went to their kitchen and grabbed two flashlights and returned back to their home office. After handing Bailey one, he laughed.

"I guess there goes studying for today, huh?"

She paused to think and smiled. "Not exactly. I have an idea."

Thirty minutes later, they were sitting at their coffee table with their books open. They had candles spread around on it and their main window to give them light as well as their fireplace going to keep them warm.

"What do you think?"

Cody smiled. "I like it. This weekend, we had candlelit dinners. Today, we'll have candlelit studying."

"I know. Not something we should try that often, but I think it will work for today."

And it did. They were able to see well enough to be able to quiz each other back and forth for the rest of the morning. Around noon, they fixed themselves some sandwiches for lunch before heading back to studying. By late that afternoon, they had spent an entire day studying. However, the sun had began to set, and they were left only with candles and their flashlights for light.

"Bails, I think we should do our reading for tomorrow and call it a day."

She nodded. "I think you're right. No sense in straining our eyes any more than we have to."

A couple of hours later, they were done. After fixing another dinner that didn't require electricity, they headed back to lounge in front of the fire. Their apartment was starting to get really cold by then, so they were realizing that sleeping in front of the fire was probably in their future. Bailey went to get their pillows and a warm blanket while Cody added another dura-log to the fire. When that was done, they just wrapped up together.

"I know the thought of us potentially freezing should bother me, but it doesn't. I actually think this is really romantic. I mean...this is exactly how our ancestors lived hundreds of years ago."

"Very true...I guess me being a descendant of Nordic people might explain why the cold doesn't bother me that much..."

She laughed. "Thanks, Sweetie. You'll survive just fine, but what about me."

He wrapped her up in his arms. "You'll be just fine because I'm not letting you go anywhere."

She nestled in even closer. "Good."

"And it we have to snuggle together all night for body warmth, so be it..."

"I guess so. But if we're going to do that, we'll have to lose these clothes..."

He grinned. "Fine by me."

Bailey laughed. "I'll bet it is...but fine by me too."

Both reached down to begin to undress when their electricity suddenly came back on as they could see their DVD player blinking 12:00. And both were actually disappointed.

"Well, I guess we don't have to worry about freezing now with the power back on..."

She smiled. "No...but we can pretend like it didn't."

He smiled back. "Yeah...we can." He pulled the blanket over top of them. "Now...where were we?"

_To be Continued..._


	94. The Other Other Big Day

_Chapter 94_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

For the rest of February, snow continued to fall on and off. But, Cody, Bailey and Yale never lost power again, so classes marched on. Following their snow day, make up classes were held to cover the necessary material they had missed much to the students' dismay. Once those were over, everything returned back to normal. And with the arrival of March, they had less than two weeks to go before spring break. But the Yale School of Medicine was a little stingy – they only gave one week for spring break instead of the two that undergrads got. So, instead of a ten day cruise, they were only going for a five day one. And instead of heading back to Boston to catch their flight, they were going to be picked up at the New Haven airport. But, there was a very good reason for that. They simply didn't have to time to head back to Boston as late February and early March had been very busy.

On the Friday afternoon before spring break, Cody and Bailey had their qualifying exam for their class in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Once it was over though, they immediately headed right for the library to continue studying for their qualifier in Immunbiology the next morning. After studying until a little after two in the morning, they headed home to get as much sleep as they could. At seven o'clock the next morning, they were back in the medical school ready for their as they would ever be. By noon, they were staggering back home, both feeling mentally and physically drained.

"Okay, when we had finals on back to back days that actually counted for a grade, they were never that grueling..."

Cody nodded. "Tell me about it. And that last one was based just on an eight week class..."

"And just think. We have four classes this semester we haven't even started yet." She sighed. "Can we go back home and take a nap?"

He rubbed her back. "I wish we could, but we have to do laundry at some point and pack for tomorrow. After that, try to stop us."

Bailey groaned. "I forgot we had to do that. Well, at least we're heading back to the boat for five days to rest and relax..."

"You got that right. And not that I don't love it here, but I'll be happy to put on a pair of shorts or short sleeved shirt and not worry about frostbite."

So, when they got home, they did their laundry, packed their things and then took their nap. The next morning, they caught a cab to the New Haven Airport where they were airborne within a few hours. Early that afternoon, they landed down in Nassau and were picked up by a car waiting on them. And heading up the gangplank, they once again found themselves in the lobby of the S.S. Tipton. Ringing the bell once again, they were soon greeted again by Marion Moseby. And upon seeing them, he smiled.

"Well, well...if it isn't Mr. and Mrs. Martin. I haven't seen you two since you crept out of your reception early."

Cody laughed. "Well, we did have an early flight out that next morning..."

Moseby just gave them a look. "Uh huh. So, what is this? The fifth time you've been here?"

Bailey smiled. "Sure is, and we've loved our stays here every single time. Unfortunately, we'll have to leave you once we get to St. Thomas. Only a week this year..."

Moseby shook his head. "I never did understand how you got two weeks in the first place. That sounded so ridiculous." He shrugged. "Oh well. How is married life going?"

Cody smiled. "Going great. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I have the world's best wife."

Bailey shook her head and laughed. "Ignore him. Its been a long past 48 hours. But, it is going wonderfully though. How about you, Mr. Moseby? Are you and Emma getting any closer to joining our ranks?"

Moseby laughed. "I don't know about all of that. She seems to actually like putting up with me, so I consider myself fortunate in that."

Cody nodded. "I know what you mean..."

Bailey shot him a look before turning back to Moseby. "You should go for it. You two have been dating for almost three years now."

Moseby paused. "I'll think about it..." He paused and laughed again. "I guarantee I'll get married before Zack does though."

"You better hurry then. Us two and London helped him pick out a ring for Maya over Christmas break. He's going to propose to her after they both graduate in May."

Moseby just stared at them in shock. "Are you serious?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm not sure what's more unbelievable. The fact the he's ready to get married...or that he's going to graduate from college!"

For the next five days, Cody and Bailey lived up the high life. They enjoyed dining in the ship's restaurants, having fun on the ship's lido deck, and exploring the tropical locations they visited along the way. On their stop in St. Maarten, they did get lost again and came up on the nude beach again. That still wasn't something they had any interest in doing, but it did remind them of their lanai on their honeymoon in Hawaii. After reminiscing about it, they smiled at each other and decided to head back to their cabin.

But, their cruise had to come to an end, and on Saturday, they were back on the Tipton jet making their way north. Returning back to New Haven, both were a little crestfallen to find a thirty degree drop in the weather. But, their batteries were recharged once again, and they were ready to finish out their semester. And they would need it. When they got back to school, they had twelve weeks of class left and wouldn't be done until the beginning of June. Ten weeks would be of actual class time, one week of studying and then a week to take all of their remaining qualifying exams.

Their first day back, they began a ten week intro course in Pathology. A week later, they began a nine week course in Child & Adolescent Development. Four weeks later, they began their last two classes of the semester – Genetics and Biological Basis of Behavior. That left them with five qualifying exams left to take before they would end their first year. So, every night after finishing their reading for the next day, they would spent a couple of hours quizzing each to prepare themselves.

But before they could end their semester, there was still one thing they had to left to do. In the middle of May, after classes had ended on a Friday, they loaded up their car and headed back to Boston. The next day, Zack and Maya were graduating and Zack was planning to propose. As they were driving back, Bailey turned to Cody.

"So, you think Zack's nervous?"

Cody laughed. "If he was anything like me, with this being the day before, he's a nervous wreck."

Bailey shook her head. "I still don't get that. How could you really have had any doubt that I would say 'yes'?"

He smiled. "Bails, the logical and rational side of me believed you would. But, it was such a big, life changing moment that it would be natural to have a little bit of worry. I mean, if you had said no, I don't know what I would have done. Weren't you nervous too when we waited to find out where we were going to get accepted to medical school? With our grades and scores, we should have been sure things, but we both were nervous when we got our envelopes."

"Well, yeah, because what those letters said were going to determine our future."

He glanced over her at and just smiled.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright. I see what you mean. But like you had no reason to worry, Zack doesn't either. I'm sure Maya will say yes."

"I sure hope so. I mean, she's put up with him for over four years now, and I've never seen Zack around a girl like he is with Maya. I can tell he actually really does love her."

Bailey grinned. "See, it just takes you Martins finding the right person, and you bloom."

Cody grinned back. "So, are you saying you are my fertilizer, Bails? And just remember you're a Martin now too."

She just shook her head. "I know. I was including myself in that group. So, if I was your fertilizer, then you were mine too..."

He laughed. "Well, we did both reek for a little while...Just remember. Maya doesn't have a clue that Zack is graduating with her. So, we have to act like we don't know anything and are there to support her."

When they arrived at the Boston Tipton, Carey, Arwin, Kurt, Sandy, Zack, Maya and her parents were already at the suite waiting on them. Cody and Bailey introduced themselves to Maya's parents and apologized for being late, but their Pathology class didn't get out until three o'clock.

Maya laughed. "I'm just glad you guys don't reek of formaldehyde any more. That was awful."

Zack nodded. "Yeah, it was bad. And how are you two not done with school yet? Is this what they mean by year round schooling?"

Cody shook his head. "Not yet. That won't come until our third year. We'll have a month off for Christmas, but that's it. No spring break, no fall break and Thanksgiving, and no holidays."

Zack gasped. "No Thanksgiving? But...but...who's going to cook for us then? Mom?"

Carey just glared at Zack while Cody and Bailey tried to hold back their laughter. But everyone decided that was a good time to head out for dinner. And the group sat around a large table and continued to get to know each other. And for Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, like Clyde and Eunice had before, both shook their heads and laughed and how different the twins were from each other. But before too long, everyone had to call it a night as the commencement was early the next morning. Fortunately, the Bennetts were staying at the Tipton as well, and Esteban had comped a room for Maya and Zack to stay in so everyone would be in the same place.

The next morning, while Maya was getting ready in their room, Zack slipped up to the 24th floor to get his cap and gown. And when he walked in, everyone was already dressed and eating breakfast.

"Mmmm...French toast. I'm starved!"

Cody looked up at him. "Aren't you supposed to be getting in your cap and gown before going to surprise Maya?"

"Yeah, but I can eat first, right?"

Cody got up and wrapped his arm around Zack's shoulders. "How are you hungry? On the morning I was going to propose, my stomach was doing somersaults..."

Zack stopped where he was. "That's right...I am proposing today. I was planning on getting through graduation first and then worrying about it." He stopped. "Thanks, Bro. Now, that's all I can think about!." He shuddered. "My stomach doesn't feel so good."

Cody laughed. "Another stomach virus?"

Zack glared at him. "No!"

"Well, if you're going to throw up, go do it now. No sense in you throwing up all over your gown."

Zack kept glaring at him until he clutched his stomach and ran into the bathroom.

Cody yelled after him. "There's mouthwash under the sink..."

Bailey walked over to him. "What was that all about?"

He grinned. "Just making sure he gets the full experience. Besides, we were out of French toast..."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Sweetie, his experience proposing won't be the same as yours. Let him do it his own way."

Cody paused to consider that. "You're right. He and I are completely different, so we should have different experiences."

Zack came out of the bathroom looking a little green again.

"Thanks, Codester. I was feeling so good until about five minutes ago."

"And you should be feeling good. This is a big day for you...a day if I'm honest, I never thought I would ever see. This time five years ago, we we're graduating high school. I was worried about your future, Zack. I had no idea what was in store for you or what you were going to do with your life. But, I've never been prouder of you than I am today. You're graduating from college and going to propose to the woman you love. And while I've gone through both of those my self, as someone very wise just pointed out to me, your experiences will be different than mine. If you aren't nervous about it, more power to you."

Zack sighed. "Well, to be honest, I was focusing on graduation so I wouldn't have to think about what I was going to do later. Before now, I've been focusing on finals so much not to think about it, I may have my best semester yet."

Cody laughed. "Well, just do it. You love her, and she loves you. She'd be a fool to say no."

"I sure hope so..." Zack laughed too. "Who would ever have imagined this is where we would both be five years ago? You think you were worried about my future? I was scared to death about yours. I was trying to get you to dump Barbara, and you were about to go off to some some strange place where I couldn't keep an eye on you. To be honest, I half expected you to come running home after a few weeks. But you didn't. And when you did come home for Thanksgiving, I finally understood why. Bro, I don't know how you did it or what she sees in you, but you found a great girl who loves you heart and soul. Hell, you even talked her into marrying you. You definitely fell up."

"So did you."

"Yeah, we both did..."

Cody smiled. "So, how are you going to pop the question?"

Zack grinned back. "Already got that taken care of...But right now, I need to head back to our room before Maya thinks I got lost."

Ten minutes later, Zack was dressed in his cap and gown and headed back to the room he and Maya had stayed in the night before. He checked himself out in the mirror in the hallway before he knocked on their door. It took a few minutes, but Maya finally answered the door.

"There you are! Where did you run off to..." She paused and frowned. "Zack, why are you wearing a cap and gown?"

He smiled. "I believe this is what graduates are supposed to wear to their graduation..."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "You big goof. Hurry up and get out of that so we can get going..."

He kept smiling. "Well, I would...but then I'd be the only person graduating today not wearing a cap and gown..."

"Why do you keep saying you're graduating? You have another semester to go."

Zack shook his head. "No, I don't. The past two semesters, I've taken an extra class. Plus, last summer, I took two summer school classes. I have all the credits I need to graduate today..."

Maya just looked at him, but he never gave the indication he was joking. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I'm seriously graduating today. Surprise..."

She immediately grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "Oh my gosh! This is amazing! Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because it was supposed to be a surprise. I mean...you're the one who influenced me to give college a try, so when I found out it was possible for me to graduate with you, I wanted to surprise you with it..."

She smiled at him. "Well, you did...I'm proud of you, Zack."

"Pretty proud of myself too. Now hurry up. We have to get moving. We're graduating today!"

Soon after, everyone headed out of the hotel to make their way to Alumni Stadium where the commencement was being held. Once the larger university commencement concluded, it was time for the various schools in the university to hold their diploma ceremonies. So, one by one, they followed Zack and Maya around to watch them receive their diplomas and become college graduates. Afterwards, everyone headed back to the hotel to change before meeting up with Woody and Addison's families for a dinner to celebrate everyone's graduation. As he left the car, Zack asked everyone to wish him luck.

Once back up in their room, Zack and Maya were changing before dinner. And as they were, Maya paused and looked at Zack.

"We're college graduates now..."

Zack smiled. "I know. I was there."

Maya nodded. "You remember when I told you a long time ago I wanted to go to the peace corp, but Dad said he would pay for my college if I went first?"

He paused. For some reason, he was getting a bad feeling. "I remember..."

"Well, I have a surprise for you too. Several weeks ago, I got my acceptance letter from them. They want to send me to Chad for a year to help out with the refugee situation..."

Zack's heart sunk. "Oh..."

"I thought it would work out since you had another semester to graduate. I thought when I got back, I could finish off my masters in social work while you finished your MBA. But, with your surprise, our time lines won't match up any longer. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I realized my life isn't exactly the same as it was when I began college. Right now though, I want to know what you think..."

Zack paused to think about everything. He didn't want Maya to go, but he loved her enough not to hold her back from what she wanted to do. "If this is what you want to do, then do it. But...I have to be honest here too. I had another surprise for you too."

Maya just looked at him. "What? I don't think there is anything you could do to top your surprise from earlier..."

"I don't know about all of that..."

"What is it then?"

Zack took a deep breath and began This wasn't how he had planned on doing this, but now was the time to do it. "I meant it earlier when I said I owed you a lot for where I am today. You make me want to be a better person. I know I'm not perfect, but you make me want to be as close to it as I can. Maya, I hope you know how much I love you..."

"Of course I do. I love you too."

"I want you in my life full time, Baby..." He reached into his pocket to pull out the ring box. He opened it up to show her the ring and dropped to one knee. "I want you to marry me..."

Maya just looked at Zack in shock. He was really proposing to her! And in that instance, nothing else mattered to her and she had in front of her exactly what she wanted.

"YES! YES! Of course I'll marry you!"

She pulled him up and hugged him hard before leaning in and kissing him.

"I can't believe you just did that!"

Zack smiled. "Well, I've been convinced that married life is actually not that bad and actually pretty great. So, I figured I wanted that for you and me too..." He paused. "But, if you still want to go to the Congo..."

"Chad..."

"Wherever. If you still want to go, then go. I'll be right here waiting for you."

Maya smiled at him. "That means more to me than I could ever say..."

"So, how long do we have before you leave?"

She smiled again. "All the time in the world. I'm not going anywhere!" And with that, she pulled him in for a long kiss.

_To be Continued..._

**AN: Yeah, I apologize for dragging this story out longer than I shoul****d have. I can only say writing this was my way to clear my mind before the bat. But don't worry, I'm wrapping it up soon. I think by now people know I like to end on nice round numbers,so...Anyways, Its almost been a week, but I still have mental fatigue, but I will try to get back to KTHFB and NKOTB soon. But for those wanting to find out what happened to Angela in NKOTB, it may be a long, long time before that is answered. And, I'll be glad for this story to end. I know I talked about the Suite Life Parent Trap idea I was kicking around. Well, I have a plot for that story kicking around in my head, so it should be out sometime before the end of summer.**_  
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	95. Sliders and Softballs

_Chapter 95_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Once Zack and Maya finally broke their kiss, they realized it was time to go spread the news of their engagement to their families. Zack explained that his family knew he was going to propose, so it wouldn't be as big of a shock to them as it would be to her parents. He paused and then explained that he didn't ask her parents for their blessing because he felt that it was an old fashioned idea. As far as he was concerned, what they did was between them. Maya actually agreed with him, but said if she didn't get to tell someone soon that she was engaged, she was going to burst.

Fortunately, everyone was supposed to meet in Carey's suite before heading downstairs to meet Woody, Addison and their families to celebrate everyone's graduation. Maya burst through the door, and she immediately began jumping up and down shrieking that she was engaged. Immediately, the ladies congregated around her to congratulate her to let her show off her ring. Zack was kind of forgotten about in the moment, but Cody came over and patted him on the back.

"Congratulations, Zack...and welcome to the club."

Zack was watching Maya still acting so excited. "Why do I get the feeling that my role in this is over now?"

Cody laughed. "Depending on how involved Maya lets you be, you just might be. But look at the bright side. She said 'yes'." He paused. "And by doing so, I now owe Bailey twenty bucks..."

Zack turned to glare at him. "You were betting she wouldn't?"

Cody kept laughing. "Just busting your chops. That's something you need to get used to."

Zack was about to say something back to his brother when Mr. Bennet walked over and patted Zack on the back too.

"Congratulations, Zack. Welcome to the family." He paused and smiled. "Think you and I could go for a walk and meet everyone downstairs later?"

Zack shrugged and nodded, and they told everyone they would meet them downstairs. Kurt and Cody could only stand back and shake their heads. They both had a pretty good idea what was about to happen. Eventually, Maya calmed down and excused herself to go to the bathroom to retouch her makeup and freshen up. And when she was done, everyone headed downstairs where Maya got excited again showing off her engagement ring to Addison. Finally, everyone calmed down again, and they made their way into the restaurant. And as they were being seated, Mr. Bennett rejoined them and said Zack was in the restroom and would be right out.

Thinking he probably needed to settle his brother down, Cody excused himself and headed for the bathroom as well. And once inside, he saw Zack splashing his face with water.

"Got the talk, huh?"

Zack turned and said his brother standing there grinning. "The talk?"

"Yeah. The one you get from your future father-in-law where he tells you if you ever hurt his little girl that bad things will happen to you."

Zack sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that's one way of putting it. He said I better treat his little girl good or he had some..." He used air quotes. "...friends who wouldn't be happy. Codester, they're from New York City. I was afraid to ask what that meant fearing it could mean cement shoes..."

Cody laughed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. I got to watch Clyde try to intimidate the new boyfriend of Bailey's youngest sister on New Year's Eve. And then he explained it to me. He just wants to protect his daughters and with each new son-in-law, his army of guys to help intimidate grows. He said I passed the test, and I'm a part of the family now..."

Zack sighed. "Great. Maya is an only child. All of his intention will be on me."

"Look. Having in-laws is great. I know I'm extremely lucky, but I think I have the best ones. Clyde and Eunice are both wonderful people and so are Bailey's sisters." He laughed. "And then there's Grammy. She's one of a kind, and she's quite the character. She's the one I would fear out of any of them. But she really likes me. When we told them about Reggie sending Bailey the picture of you and Maya not knowing we were twins, Grammy almost busted a gut. She couldn't figure out how he couldn't tell the difference." Cody grinned. "According to her, I'm the handsome twin."

Zack just shook his head. "Between Bailey and her Grammy both thinking that, I think it proves that bad eyesight runs in that family. I mean, my future nieces and nephews will have a 50-50 chance of needing glasses." He paused. "I take that back, you had that stigamthingy when we were kids. Your kids are screwed..."

When they returned to the table, Kurt had ordered a round of champagne to toast the graduations and engagement. And throughout dinner, Addison and Maya's fathers made sure to keep everyone's glasses full. During desert, Woody's stepfather Steve ordered a round too, but he also told them to make sure Woody's was a Shirley Temple. And all around the table, everyone could hear Woody exclaim. "Hurtful!"

Everyone hung around the restaurant till almost eleven o'clock. By then, since they had been up early, all of the parents were ready to call it a night. But Zack, Maya, Addison and Woody still wanted to celebrate some more. Cody and Bailey were leaning towards going up to bed too since they had to get up early and drive back to New Haven in the morning. Well, that was until they got the mother of all guilt trips laid on their shoulders.

"Come on, Bro...Sis. We're only going to graduate college and get engaged once. You have to go out with us!"

Cody sighed. "And normally, we would. But this is just a bad time for us."

Maya gave them her best puppy dog face. "Why is it such a bad time?"

Bailey averted her eyes. "Because while you two graduated today, we still have have school on Monday. We have three weeks left. A week of class, a week to study and then a week to take qualifying exams that if we don't pass, we have to retake those classes..."

Maya paused. "Okay, that's actually a valid excuse..."

Zack rolled his eyes. "I call bull! A couple of hours won't make a difference."

Cody turned to Bailey and she shrugged. He turned back to Zack. "Alright, a couple of hours...BUT we are done drinking for the night. We have no desire to be hung over and have tomorrow completely wasted."

Zack was about to argue again when Maya cut him off. "Fair enough. Besides, its probably good idea for somebody to say sober."

Bailey laughed. "We can do that. You all deserve a night to celebrate."

"What did you two do the night Cody proposed to you to celebrate?"

She smiled. "Well, to be fair, he proposed to me a little before midnight. So, by the time he did it, the night was almost over. But, we all went back to the house and had a little impromptu celebration. Of course, we spent more time later alone in bed making preliminary wedding plans and picking a date."

Maya was surprised. "You chose a date that night?"

"Yeah. I said I wanted to be Bailey Martin by the time we started medical school, but I also didn't see the need to wait. I knew what I wanted, so there was no point putting it off."

Maya nodded. "I guess I can see that. Hmmm." She paused and smiled. "Anyone have a calendar on them?"

Zack shook his head. "Enough! We can do that tomorrow!" He checked his cell phone. "Last call at the bars is in two hours!"

So off they went to some local watering holes down the street from the hotel. And for the next two hours, the four college graduates had enough drinks and shots to leave them all wobbly and slurring their speech. By the time last call was announced at 1:30 AM, Cody and Bailey were worn out and tired of babysitting the intoxicated. They would have left right then, but someone spilled a drink on Woody. The entire bar hear him yell out "Dang it!" and storm off to the bathroom to dry himself off. Fifteen minutes later, they were able to finally herd everyone outside.

Cody and Bailey thought they could still be in bed by two o'clock, but their hopes were soon dashed. Zack noticed a new White Castle that had recently opened across the street. And being drunk and hungry, everyone thought it was a great idea. Well, almost everyone. Cody and Bailey just cringed. This would not be their first late night trip to a White Castle. One had opened up across the street from Yale's campus a couple of years prior. After a late night of working on a project in their dorm room, they were hungry and the dining hall was closed. Since neither had been to a White Castle before and neither had heard of Harold and Kumar's adventure to get to one, they tried it. And the next day, they paid for it. So, while everyone else was chowing down on sliders, Cody and Bailey happily sat back and sipped on their ice cold Big Reds.

Finally, about 2:30, everyone was ready to head back to the hotel and crash. And that was just fine to Cody and Bailey. They were planning on waking up at 8:30 either way, so the more sleep the better. But as they were walking back, Bailey turned to Cody.

"Do you hear an owl?"

Cody paused. "I think I do..." Then his face went pale. "Do you smell that?"

Bailey stopped to take a whiff, and she almost got sick. "I think something just died!"

After getting everyone back to the hotel and safely in their rooms, Cody and Bailey happily turned in for the night as well. And they were thankful that Carey had gotten the two twin beds in the twin's old room replaced with a double bed. Not that they weren't used to sleeping in a twin together, but the older they got, they enjoyed the extra space.

The next morning, like they said, they were up, showered and dressed ready to head out by 9:30 that morning. After telling Carey goodbye and telling her they would be back to visit when they could, they were on the road back. And by taking the shortcut they had learned, they were due to be back home by noon.

"They're all going to have a rough day today, aren't they?"

Bailey nodded. "Definitely. I hope they don't blame us for what they did..."

Cody laughed. "Well, if they try to call us, we'll just screen our calls."

But that was the last they worried about it. They had other things to do like doing their reading for Monday and continuing to study for their upcoming qualifiers. And their last week of classes was a rough one. Seems the professors realized they had a lot of information to still go over and not a lot of time left to do it. So, they crammed as much as they could in the remaining classes. By the time their last class on Friday ended, every student was on overload. And that left Cody and Bailey with a quandary – begin studying immediately or take the night off to have some fun. Since they had been studying for the tests for over a month now already, they took the night off to go out, have dinner and see a movie.

On Saturday morning, they were at the medical school library when it opened. Since their course in Biochemistry, Cell Biology & Histology and Physiology had spanned the entire first year, they spent a majority of their time studying for it. And for the next week, they did nothing but study, eat and sleep. By the time they left the medical school library on Friday evening, they were sick of looking at all of the material.

The next day brought their first qualifying exam. And by the next Friday when they turned in their last one, they were physically exhausted. They barely had enough energy to walk home and crash on the couch.

"Bails?"

"Yeah, Cody?"

"I think I'm ready to donate my body so the first years next year can use it in Human Anatomy. I've never been this worn out in my whole life..."

"If you do, I'll be on the slab right next to you. But I have been worn out this bad once before." She smiled at him. "Our honeymoon..."

He smiled back at her. "True, but that was a good worn out. And even then, I still couldn't keep my hands off of you. I'm afraid I'd fall asleep on you right now..."

She gave him a weak laugh. "Who's to say I wouldn't be asleep before you were?"

"Sleep sounds real good right now..."

Bailey yawned. "Yeah, it does..."

Both were about to drift off to sleep on the couch when Cody's cell phone began ringing. He sighed and grabbed it.

"Yeah?" "Uh huh..." "Uh huh..." He paused. "Really? Already?" "Alright, thanks for calling. I appreciate it, Ben."

Bailey turned to him. "What did Ben have to say?"

"Seems all of the exams have been graded and results posted already. The miracle of scantron continues to amaze..."

She paused. "I say we still take a nap. Let the crowds get in there first and we'll go later..."

It was Cody's turn to yawn. "Sounds good to me, Bails."

Soon after, both passed out on the couch from pure exhaustion. A few hours later, both woke up feeling a little bit better. They began talking about dinner that night when it suddenly dawned on them.

"Cody...Did I dream that Ben called you and told you all the grades were up?"

He paused. "I thought I dreamed that?"

"How did we have the same dream...unless..." Both just looked at each other, and their eyes went wide. Without another word, they both ran out of their apartment as fast as they could only taking enough time to lock their door. And as fast as they could run, they made their way to the medical school. What normally was a ten minute walk to them at a casual pace, they made in just over five minutes. And they were the only ones in the lobby when they got there.

Quickly finding the results, they began searching for their numbers. When they got to the last one posted, both looked at each other.

"Well?"

Cody smiled at her. "I'm a second year med student!"

Bailey smiled back. "Me too!"

The grabbed each other in a tight embrace and began dancing around the lobby. At that moment, someone actually joined them in the lobby. One of the school's janitors just shrugged and shook his head. After several years, he'd seen that sight more than enough times.

"Codykins, we should go out and celebrate!"

"Yeah, we should. But not too much..." He laughed. "Our adrenaline surge will soon wear off, and we'll crash again. Besides...we start work on Monday."

_To be Continued..._


	96. Learning Something New Everyday

_Chapter 96_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

That Monday, Cody and Bailey began their summer positions at Yale New Haven Children's Hospital. And from the very beginning, they were thrown into their work head first. Their first day seemed to fly by as they were constantly on the move, following the doctor from one patient to the next. Not that it was all glamorous work though. Being lower than the low men on the totem poles, they got to do the very unglamorous grunt work that no one else wanted to do. When a child threw up, it was up to them to clean it up if it needed to be analyzed. And when a stool sample needed to be taken, well...

But there were other things they got to do that made them feel more like doctors. As the hospital was a learning hospital, their medical education was continuing. But unlike during school, they were actually getting paid. And as June progressed, both came upon some good fortune.

For Bailey, she thought she knew that she wanted to be a pediatrician. But after assisting one of the doctors for a few weeks, she began to have doubts about that. While she liked seeing the children's faces light up when she was around or when they got good news, she knew something was missing. It just seemed like everything was so clinical, and she couldn't really put herself into it. But that's when something happened to change everything.

One of the child psychiatrists needed some assistance for the day, and Bailey was assigned to help her. And that one day opened her eyes. In helping children with their mental and behavioral issues, she was allowed to improvise more and try different methods to help them. Besides feeling useful and good about what she was doing, she found out she was immensely enjoying the work. It gave her pause to stop and think about going into pediatric psychiatry instead of just pediatrics. And the psychiatrist she was working with enjoyed having Bailey around so much that Bailey was permanently assigned to her for the rest of the summer.

And this lead to two things happening. For one, it gave Bailey a wonderful idea for her thesis. And when she would talk it over with the psychiatrist she was helping, Dr. Banes thought it was a great idea too. She said if there was anything she could to to help Bailey with it, just to ask her. And being around the psychiatric department all day, she was able to do research and do clinical interviews with patients and their parents. By the time the summer was over, Bailey had a lot of research done and her thesis proposal almost ready to submit.

The other thing that happened was that Bailey ran into someone that she thought she would never see again – Janie, the girl she ran into her freshman year at student health. Bailey wasn't sure it was her at first since it had been four years, but she spoke up anyways.

"Janie?"

The woman turned and looked at Bailey. "Yes? Do I know you?"

Bailey smiled. "You might not remember me, but I remember you. We met at Yale Student Health over four years ago. I was waiting to go in for my appointment, and you..." She stopped smiling and speaking.

But that jogged Janie's memory. "Ahh...yes. I do remember you now. I apologize for laying all of that on you that day."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad I could lend an ear. I hope everything has worked for you though..."

Janie sighed. "Maybe. I'm not sure yet."

Bailey was about to ask what happened, but she remembered it was none of her business. "Well, I hope it does."

Janie nodded and paused. "Are you still with your same boyfriend?"

Bailey smiled again. "I am. Actually, he's my husband now. We got married last August."

"Good for you. I'm glad to see someone wasn't as stupid as I was."

Bailey paused. "I have to tell you. Hearing your story had quite the impact on me. I realized if I did anything to risk losing Cody, I wouldn't be able to handle it. I love him so much. I told him your story, and we had a long talk about it. We didn't particularly care for alcohol to begin with, but we decided that we would only have more than a drink if we were with each other."

Janie nodded. "I wish I had made a decision like that. Then I wouldn't have had to go through four years of pure hell..."

"I thought you said everything might be working out for you."

"It still might, but I realized I had to tell my then fiance what happened. To say he was devastated was an understatement. I know he was hurting so bad, and I hurt me even worse to know I was the cause of it."

"I bet..."

"He didn't talk to me for a month...said he needed time to think. And in the end, he said he would support the baby if it was his, but beyond that, he couldn't be with me anymore."

Bailey felt her heart breaking. "I'm so sorry. How old is your child now?"

Janie shook her head. "I never had it. Realizing how my stupidity had cost me the man I loved sent me into a deep depression. I didn't take care of myself as I stopped caring about anything. Well, that lead to me being rushed to the hospital late one night. I had miscarried."

Bailey gasped. "Oh my gosh! I am so so sorry."

Janie smiled. "Thanks. But that was the wake up call I needed. I picked myself up and got myself ready to head out to Stanford for grad school. I decided to dedicate myself to my studies and rebuild my life that way."

"But wasn't your fiance going there too?"

"Yeah, and I saw him around campus every so often. It hurt so much to see him and know I could never be with him again. And then one day, I saw him smiling again. I didn't think I would ever see that sight again." And then she paused to collect herself. "And then I found out why. This other girl came up and gave him a big kiss. My stomach started doing somersaults and I wanted to throw up. I starting crying again and ran off."

"Oh my..."

Janie started laughing. "And here's the funny part. I wanted him to be happy. So, I knew I would have to learn to deal with it. And for two years, I did my best to do just that."

"I bet that was incredibly hard."

"It was extremely hard. But, I just dove headfirst back into my studies. And I would have continued to do so until that one night about a year and a half ago. I was meeting a study group for a dinner meeting and brainstorm when I saw his new girlfriend come into the restaurant...with another guy."

Bailey had a bad feeling about that. "Oh no..."

Janie nodded again. "Oh yeah. I didn't thing much of it until I saw them making out in a booth. Knowing this was about to happen to him for the second time, I knew I had to do something. So, I took out my cell phone and took a video of them. The next day, I waited outside of his last class of the day. I told him I needed to talk to him, and he looked a little bit leery of that. He finally agreed though, and I told him what I saw and showed him the video. I didn't know it was possible to see someone's face drain of blood like that."

"So, what happened?"

"He never said a word and just walked away."

Bailey was surprised. "That's it?"

"Yeah. I didn't see him again until January. I ran into him in the library late one night. He actually came up to me and thanked me for being honest with him and telling him what was happening. He said he confronted her about it, and she tearfully admitted to it and apologized saying it would never happen again. Supposedly, it was some old boyfriend of hers, and irony or ironies, she had had too much to drink that night. Well, he broke up with her right then and there. He said she knew what I had done to him, so there was no way to forgive her. And since then, he had focused completely on his studies too."

"So, what's happening now?"

"Well, we got to talking again, and I apologized to him for the millionth time. I told him that I regretted what I had done immensely and hadn't had a drink of alcohol since that spring break. And then I broke down crying telling him that I still loved him and would do anything for another chance with him."

"And you got one?"

Janie smiled. "To be determined. He said he wasn't ready for another relationship as he was leery of all women. I had to understand that, but we decided to try to be friends again. And we've come along way. About a month ago, we were doing something when we just kissed. We talked about it and decided we would just see where things took us. So, I have hope again."

Bailey smiled back. "Well, I hope it works for you."

"And I hope that the rest of my story helps you as well. When you find the man you love and can't live without, don't ever take him for granted. You never want to experience the pain of losing him. I got lucky and may have another chance with mine. I'll never do anything to blow a second chance."

"I know you won't. And I'll never take my Cody for granted. I don't want to even think of the possibility of a life without him."

"Good." Janie paused. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"Oh, I just finished my first year of medical school, and I'm working in the hospital for the summer."

"Are you going into psychiatry?"

Bailey laughed. "I've been thinking about it more and more lately."

"Good. For some reason, you're really easy to talk to. You should keep thinking about it."

For Cody, his summer work was just as interesting as Bailey's. He gave an honest effort to see if pediatrics was something he would want to do. But, despite his best efforts, he soon found that it wasn't. He enjoyed the work, but it just didn't quite quench his thirsts. Like Bailey though, his services were farmed out to other doctors thoughout as well. And two of these such loans really intrigued him.

The first time was to a Pediatrics Plastic Surgeon. Cody knew Zack had joked around with him about becoming one, but seeing how he could actually help children lead normal lives really made a lasting impact on him. And in working with children, he would feel good about himself and not think of what he was doing as pandering to someone's vanity. He had to admit to himself that it was something he could see himself doing with his life.

The second loan was to a radiologist. And when he was helping out there, he was in heaven. His whole life, new technology had fascinated him. That's why he had spent so many hours at Arwin's side tinkering in his lab. But radiology was a chance to see the melding of medicine and technology. From x-rays to CT scans to MRIs to new machines that were on the cutting edge, Cody was there ready to learn as much as he could. Again, he had to admit to himself that it was something he could see himself doing with his life.

Combining the two fields, Cody also got a great idea for his thesis. And when he mentioned it to the two doctors he was working with, both were fascinated with the idea and vowed to help out in anyway they could. Like Bailey, by the end of the summer, he had a lot of research done and his thesis proposal almost ready to submit as well. When they discussed them with each other, Cody and Bailey decided to have them done as soon as possible so no one else would try to take their ideas first. Everything was looking up for them not only personally but professionally as well. While Bailey was thinking of switching her intended specialty slightly, Cody was getting closer to narrowing his down. But they still had another year of pre-clinical work to go before they began their clinical work.

But work wasn't the only thing they did that summer though. In early July, they headed back to Boston for the 4th of July. That same weekend, Cody's Cheevers Class of '11 was having their five year reunion. Bailey could only shake her head wondering what a class of almost three hundred students would have been like. However, Bailey thought she was going to get into a fight when five minutes after they got there, Agnes came up and surprised Cody with a hug. Bailey made sure she showed Agnes her engagement and wedding rings before looping her arm with his, calling him 'Codykins' and leading him off somewhere else as Agnes stared at them with her mouth open in surprise.

Towards the end of the night, Cody leaned over and whispered to her.

"Thank you."

She turned to him. "For what?"

He grinned. "Everyone here is wondering how I got the most beautiful wife."

She laughed. "Should I stand up and make an announcement to tell them your dirty secret of how you came to my rescue and made it impossible for me not to fall in love with you?"

He laughed too. "Nah. Most of them thought its because I'm in medical school. When I told them you were too, their jaws about hit the floor. But, who cares what they think, right?"

"Exactly. The girls at my reunion in a few weeks would probably think the same thing about you except they've already met you..."

And a few weeks later, they headed back to Kettlecorn for Bailey's five year high school reunion. And even with the vast majority of her graduating class of thirty showing up, it still wasn't very crowded. Cody and Bailey circulated and talked to everyone, but they had seen most everyone on New Year's Eve, so there wasn't much to catch up on.

One surprise was that Moose showed up with his wife. And for the first time, they actually got to see what she looked like. At first, they thought she looked fairly normal, but when Moose started acting up with some of his old friends, they saw her give him a glare that would freeze water.

Cody laughed. "So...that's how she keeps him in line."

Bailey laughed too. "I guess so."

He just shook his head. "I guess they teach you that the day of your wedding, huh? The look to give your husband telling him to stop being stupid." He laughed. "I've gotten one from you enough times..."

Bailey just glared at him.

Cody kept smiling. "Yeah, that's the one..."

Once the calendar turned to August, It was almost time for their first wedding anniversary. Bailey decided to do something special to surprise Cody. So, she left work early that day to head back to their apartment to prepare. And when Cody got home, he was pleasantly surprised to find the apartment decorated with inflated palm trees, leis everywhere and Bailey in a grass skirt and coconut bra. Immediately, Cody knew it was going to be a good anniversary.

By the middle of August, Cody and Bailey had their last days of work so they could have some time off before their second year began. They had volunteered to lead a group of first years around the first day of orientation. But before then, they just wanted some time to themselves. No jobs. No classes. No families. No responsibilities. So for a week, they just did things they wanted to do like go to Six Flags or go to the beach or go to a water park or just stay at home and have fun. Because they knew that once there second year began, any time to be able to do nothing would be few and far between. This would be their last ever fall and spring breaks. Once they finished their second year, it would essentially being say goodbye to college and hello to the real world. It was a step they were ready to take.

_To be Continued..._


	97. Halfway Done

_Chapter 97_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

At the end of August, first year orientation finally arrived. The Monday before classes were scheduled to start back, Cody and Bailey made their way to the medical school in their orientation t-shirts that they were required to wear. Once their group of ten students arrived and registered, they pulled them off to the side and began giving them their presentation. The first year students had horrified looks on their faces when Cody and Bailey started making morbid jokes, but they quickly explained that was just something that would happen to them too. After giving them a tour of the medical school, Cody and Bailey took them to the student ID office, and along the way, they gave them tips on how to handle their first year that they wouldn't get in the regular orientation. And from there, they took everyone over to the bookstore to get their books. They had to hold back laughter at the looks on the first years' faces when they saw how much it was going to cost them. And while they were there, they went ahead and got their books as well.

Their second year wouldn't contain as many staggered classes as their first year. All year, they would continue their preclinical clerkship and tutorial as well as a continuing class in Pathology. During the first semester, they would also have courses in Microbiology, Epidemiology & Public Health, Pharmacology and Modules I. Modules I would cover such areas as Hematology, Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Psychiatry and Endocrinology.

All throughout the week of orientation, Cody and Bailey made appearances at the social activities being held, but they never stayed all that long. For one, they would rather spend the time with just each other doing nothing while they could. For another, however unlikely it would be, they wanted to avoid running into anyone else that could cause another Reggie incident. The weekend before school started, they decided to spend Saturday at the beach before settling back in on Sunday and beginning their reading.

Unlike the year before when they were experiencing everything for the first time, the first semester of their second year flew by. Before they knew it, twelve weeks had passed, and it was time for their last ever fall break. And to be on the safe side, they double checked to make sure they weren't being followed on the way back to Boston. The first few days were spent relaxing around the suite taking it easy. Okay...well not really. They brought their laptops and thesis research with them hoping to finish up their proposals so they would have them ready to turn in the Monday morning they got back. In addition to the doctors at the hospital, they had two faculty members who had agreed to sponsor their theses as well. Fortunately, by Tuesday afternoon, they both had completed them.

On Tuesday evening, they did the shopping for Thanksgiving like they usually did. But when they got back to the suite, there were two visitors in the suite. Unlike Yale, BC students, including grad students, only got Wednesday through Friday off for Thanksgiving. And Zack and Maya were in the suite taking Cody and Bailey's recently vacated spaces around the table. When they walked in, Maya looked up and sighed.

"Thanks goodness you guys are here!"

Cody and Bailey just stood there holding grocery bags and looked at each other. Bailey laughed. "Nice to know we were missed..."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Not you two exactly! We need the list of addresses for all of our family members that you two made for your wedding. Hopefully, you still have it somewhere."

Cody laughed too. "I think you spoke too soon..." He turned to his brother. "If you can wait for us to unload the groceries, I can email it to you. Its on my laptop somewhere."

"I figured it was. I tried to hack into it again, but I still can't figure out what your new password is..."

Cody grinned. "And you never will. The only other person besides me who knows it is Bailey, and there is no record of it written down anywhere."

After Cody and Bailey unloaded the groceries, Cody fired up his laptop and e-mailed Zack the list.

"There you go. All the addresses were current as of about a year and a half ago."

Zack turned to Maya and smiled. "My list of family members is done now."

She just shook her head and smirked at him. "Well, if I had a brother get married in the past two years, mine would be too..."

Cody turned to Bailey. "Brings back some fond memories, huh?"

She laughed. "I don't know how fond they were..."

Maya looked up at them. "How did you two get through this without going crazy? Even with London and Mary helping us, I feel like pulling all of my hair out..."

Bailey laughed again. "Oh, there were days where I told Cody that I wished we had just eloped. There were times where I did think we were going crazy..." She smiled. "But in the end, I'm really glad we did it the way we did. Memories of that day will forever hold a special place in my mind and my heart. You'll feel the same way some day too."

Maya sighed. "I sure hope so. Zack jokingly said we could be in Vegas in about five hours, and I seriously contemplated it..."

"Well, what do you have planned so far?"

"Right now, we just have a date and a location. We're going to have it at the New York Tipton in early June."

Cody grinned. "Perfect timing then..."

Zack looked up. "Oh? Why's that?"

"We begin our clinical rotations of our third year in late June. And we have part 1 of the United States Medical License Examination in the the first part of May."

Zack frowned. "What's that?"

"Pretty much what it says it is. We have to pass all three parts of it to get our medical license. We've already begun studying for it."

"Why? I thought you guys only had to pass?"

"For our classes the first two years, yeah. But this test will be like the SAT and MCAT. The better we do the, the better off we'll be. The better you do on the SAT, the better the college you get into. The better you do on the MCAT, the better the medical school you get into. The better you do on the USMLE, the better the residency you get."

Zack paused and nodded. "Gotcha. You picked a specialty yet?"

"I have it narrowed down. Either radiology or plastic surgery."

Zack laughed. "Plastic surgery! I knew it!"

Cody sighed. "Not what you think. I spent last summer helping out with the pediatric plastic surgeons. Seeing the look on the kids' faces after the surgery and the smiles they had because they knew they have a chance at a normal life again gives you an incredible feeling..."

Zack just kept grinning. "Uh huh..."

Maya sighed. "Can we get back on topic here?" She turned to Bailey. "Would you mind me picking your brain for the next couple of days? I could use all the help I can get." She gestured towards Zack. "You can see what kind of help I'm getting already..."

Bailey smiled. "I wouldn't mind at all. Lets send the boys out to get us dinner and we'll sit down and see what we can do to get you organized."

So, that's what happened. The guys went out to get pizza and rent a couple of movies while Bailey and Maya sat around the kitchen table. Bailey got her laptop out, and she and Maya went through everything Maya would need to do and make a checklist. That way, she could mark things off once they were accomplished. And once they had the basics down, they got into specifics that Maya would need to think about.

"Okay, have you begun looking for your dress yet?"

Maya nodded. "London's designer is making one for me too. He also has some ideas about the bridesmaid dresses that he is supposed to have back to me before Christmas."

Bailey nodded. "How big of a wedding party are you going to have?"

"Well, Zack is having Cody as a best man and Woody as a groomsman. I've asked Addison to be my maid of honor, so I have one left to pick. I just need to pick my matron of honor now."

Bailey nodded again. "Well, best to go ahead and have that settled. I know Cody and I wanted it to be as small as possible, but you need at least two to serve as witnesses for the marriage certificate."

Maya paused. "You're right...So, does that mean you'll do it?"

Bailey looked up at her in surprise. "Really?"

Maya smiled. "Really. I mean...in about eight months, we'll be sisters. I know you already have nine, but I don't..."

Bailey smiled back. "I'd be honored to. Tell you what. Tomorrow, I'll ask Cody if we can prepare everything before noon. That way, we can head out and and you can get some ideas of what all you want. We'll even drag the guys along to look at tuxes. We'll make sure Zack knows that a baby blue velvet tux with ruffles is out of the question..."

Maya laughed. "Sounds good to me. And the sad thing is you're probably right about Zack liking that tux."

So, the next day, Cody and Bailey prepared everything for Thanksgiving before heading out with Zack and Maya. After seeing the meal and cake Chef Paulo had made for Cody and Bailey's wedding, Maya had no qualms about entrusting him with the same for hers. That followed a trip to a florist for flower perusal, a jeweler to look at bands, and a men's formal wear store to look at tuxes. And when they were done, everyone was tired.

Well...almost. Zack cornered his brother to grill him on the topic important to him.

"How is planning the bachelor party going?"

Cody sighed. "I thought about that earlier. With your wedding being in early June and my USMLE being in early May, that gives us a couple of weekends to do it. You let me know what works best for you, and we'll go from there. The question is...what do you want to do for it?"

Zack shrugged. "Surprise me."

Cody just looked at him. "Oh really?"

Zack paused and shook his head. "Scratch that. What was I thinking? We'd probably end up sitting around playing musical charades..."

"There would be nothing wrong with that. But as best man, its my job to make sure you don't do something stupid and end up in jail or worse. I'll need to ask Maya what her rules are AND ask Bailey what her rules are."

Zack just gave him a look.

"I'm not kidding. I want you to still get married once its over, but not more than I want to stay married once its over..."

"Bro...this is my last hoorah as a single man. You have to make it something good. I'm not talking _Hangover _like or even Vegas. But something..."

Cody paused to think. "Actually, I think I have an idea. Let me give Dad a call and see if my idea has any legs to it. If it does, I think it will be something you'll like."

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and it was spent like they usually did. They got up early to prep the bird and put it in the oven before settling in to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade. And they continued to uphold the traditions they had established in the past five years. And once again on Friday, Bailey drug Cody out on Black Friday to do their Christmas shopping for the year. Friday night, both were exhausted from dealing with the masses, but as it was there last night to hang out with everyone for a while, they still did that.

On Saturday, they headed back to New Haven. Before they left, Bailey told Maya to call her anytime if she had more questions. Once back home, they went about wrapping all the gifts they had bought so they wouldn't have to do it later. And on Monday, it was back to school, and they formally submitted their proposals for their theses. They still had two weeks of classes to go before another reading week and another round of qualifying exams. And the week before Christmas break, they took their qualifying exams in Microbiology, Epidemiology & Public Health, Pharmacology and Modules I. When they were over, they were just as tired as they were the previous semester. But having two weeks off was going to be a good thing.

Christmas in Kettlecorn was a relaxing time as well. The had no imminent tests to study for and couldn't continue on with research on their theses until they had been approved. All they could do was study for the USMLE (which they did) and check the internet to see if they had passed their exams they took before break (they did that too). The only downside to it was that New Year's Day fell on a Sunday that year. So, sleep deprived, they boarded a plane back to Boston early that morning.

The next day, they began their spring semester of their second years. Their only new class that next semester was Modules II which covered such areas such as renal physiology, reproduction, gastrointestinal, neurology, musculoskeletal, oncology, ophthalmology and dermatology. The reason for only one class was that they would have less time with it than the classes in the first semester. There would only be eleven weeks before it was time for board review and then the taking of the USMLE Part I.

Except for the week of spring break that they spent back on the ship, they busted their humps all the way through the semester. When the eleven weeks were up, they took and passed their courses in Modules II and Pathology. And then it was time to study and review for their big exam. But before they did that, Cody double checked with Kurt his plans for Zack's bachelor party, and it was a go. Since their exam was on a Thursday, Cody told Zack and Woody to be in New Haven early on Friday morning and they would go from there. And while Cody was going to be gone, Maya was going to pick up Bailey on the way for a bachelorette party in New York City.

After studying for so long for their boards, it finally came time for them to take them. Both knew how important they were and felt ready. And having taken the MCAT a few years prior, they were experienced at sitting at a computer monitor for a long period of time answering questions. Once they finally finished, both returned home and sunk back into the couch.

"How do you think you did?"

Bailey paused. "Pretty well I think. I had an idea of what I was talking about on every question."

Cody nodded. "Same here. I hope we did well though. If we have any chance to get the residencies we want, we have to. We've chose very competitive specialties. And I know we joined Alpha Omega Alpha and that should help, but still..."

She smiled at him. "I'm sure we did fine. Lets talk about something else now. Namely this bachelor party you've organized."

He laughed. "Trust me. I know my role this weekend will be keeping Zack out of trouble. Besides, I remember our promise not to drink too much if the other isn't around. You don't have to worry about that."

"I know. I was planning on playing babysitter again this weekend too. It'll be a whole weekend just like the night they graduated and got engaged..."

Both paused and looked at each other. They just shuddered.

_To be Continued..._


	98. The Big Day Part II

_Chapter 98_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

That Thursday night, Cody and Bailey wanted to celebrate finishing their second years of medical school, but they figured with how exhausted they were and with their busy weekends ahead of them, the prudent move would be to stay at home and celebrate with a pizza and caffeine free diet soda. After all, it was already after 9:30. The next morning, Maya, Zack, Woody and Addison showed up at Cody and Bailey's apartment about 11:00 AM. Naturally, Zack and Woody were complaining about having to get up early, but Cody told them it would soon be worth it. Their bags were unloaded and Bailey's bag was loaded into Maya's car, and they were all ready to go in their separate directions. And that meant it was time for the couples to say goodbye.

Addison smiled at Woody. "Have fun but behave yourself. And just remember, I packed your antacids in your bag when you need them."

Woody smiled back. "Awww...Thank you, Angel Food Cake. And I slipped a box of Twinkies into yours. You have fun too...but not too much fun."

Bailey smiled at Cody. "Have fun and keep everyone out of trouble." She leaned in to kiss him and whispered. "And call me later tonight and we'll share war stories and talk each other down."

Cody laughed. "I will. You have fun too, and I hope you won't run into any ruffians like we did the last time we were in New York. You've have a full can and a back-up can of bear repellant on you, right?"

Maya smiled at Zack. "Have fun on your last hoorah as a single guy. But don't do anything stupid. If Cody tells you not to do something, listen to him, got it?"

Zack smiled back. "That would be a first. But...I'll try. You don't do anything stupid either. And if Bailey tells you not to do something, listen to her too, got it?"

And with that, they were off. The girls pulled out and headed towards the interstate. The guys walked across the street to the parking garage and loaded up in Cody's car. He pulled them out, but he began heading north.

"So, Broseph...where are we going?"

Cody grinned. "Well, our main destination, we'll get to later. But first, we have another stop I think you'll like. I hope you do anyways...I had to pull some strings to get us in." He checked the clock on the car. "We have forty-five minutes to get there, and I think we'll get there early."

And thirty minutes later, Cody pulled them off the highway and into another town. Zack saw a sign and frowned. "Why are we in Bristol, Connecticut?"

"You'll see..."

Five minutes later, Cody pulled into a large parking lot. When they got out, Zack and Woody looked around in surprise.

"Codester...we're at the ESPN headquarters."

Cody laughed. "Yeah, we are. We have a guided tour of the place in about fifteen minutes. We need to hurry or else we'll be late."

Zack grinned. "Awesome!"

And for the next few hours, they were given a tour of the whole campus and even got to see the Sportscenter set. In addition to that, they got to meet several of the on air personalities. Unfortunately, it was May, so it was mostly only the Baseball Tonight crew. Of course, Woody thought he had met his new idol in John Kruk. After their tour was complete and a stop at the gift shop, the boys were on the road again.

Cody headed the car southeast and Zack frowned.

"Where are we going now? I kind of had the idea we might be heading to Atlantic City..."

Cody smiled. "Not exactly but close..."

A little over an hour later, Cody pulled into another parking lot. And when Zack saw where they were, his mouth hung open in surprise again.

"We're at the Mohegan Sun Casino..."

Cody laughed. "We sure are. The second largest casino in Connecticut and the US. I figured one place that had restaurants, bars and our hotel room all under one roof would be the safest bet..."

"Why aren't we at the largest one?"

"Because Dad knows the manager here. We're getting the weekend on the house. Don't complain..."

Zack grinned. "Oh, I'm not...Lets go have some fun!"

Meanwhile, in New York City, Maya, Bailey and Addison had just finished checking into the New York Tipton and were exploring their hotel suite.

Bailey laughed. "It looks just like Carey's suite in Boston. I wonder if every suite in every Tipton looks exactly the same."

Maya shrugged. "Probably. Well ladies, before we have some fun, we have a little bit of work to do first. We're having the fittings for our dresses in an hour." She grinned. "But once that's done, I fully plan on showing you both the New York City I know. So, get freshened up and get ready for some fun!"

The dress fittings were relatively pain free and they all fit pretty well with only minor alterations needed. While Bailey's mother had worn yellow for Bailey's wedding, Maya had chosen black for Bailey and Addison's dresses. But, that was Maya's call and they just went with it. When they were done, Maya hailed them a cab, and the next thing everyone knew, they were in a little restaurant that Maya said her aunt and uncle ran. And while they ate, the wine flowed. Well, for Maya and Addison it did. Bailey agreed to have one drink so they could toast, but after that, she cut herself off. And it was a good thing she did. By the end of the night, they had been to several different clubs, and Maya and Addison were having trouble walking and talking in coherent sentences. Bailey just held on to both of their arms and got them in a cab. She hoped Cody was having a much easier time of things.

Unfortunately for him, he was not. Kurt had showed up just before dinner and joined the boys in the Michael Jordon Steakhouse for dinner and drinks. From their, they headed over to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for more drinks. Like Bailey had, Cody had one pineapple juice and rum to toast with, but then he was cut off. Unlike Bailey, he had three people to keep a watch over. And even though it was late, he knew their night wouldn't be over until a trip to the casino.

And that's where his first break of the night came. Seems Woody had a few too many Jaegerbombs and really wanted to go pass out. So, Cody got him back to the room only to return to the casino to find Zack and Kurt at the roulette table.

Zack turned to Cody and slurred his speech. "Come on, Broseph. At least place one bet! Its my bachelor party!"

Cody sighed, changed a $10 bill for a chip and put it on number eight. "Fine. I'll put it on eight because its my anniversary. Its been a lucky number for me so far."

Zack rolled his eyes, but his eyes soon bulged when the little ball landed on eight. "Whoa! Dude, you just won $360!"

Cody was taken back too, but quickly pocketed his chips. "Okay, I'm done. A wise man once said you have to know when hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, and know when to walk away..."

"Dude!"

Cody smirked at him. "Dude! You're having trouble walking and talking. Lets get you to bed too. We have all day tomorrow to have more fun..."

At about two in the morning, both Cody and Bailey were checking on their charges making sure everyone was still breathing. Bailey answered her phone when it rang and saw it was Cody. For the next half hour, they just talked and laughed about what they had experienced that night. But since both were tired themselves, they said they loved each other and called it a night.

Saturday actually started out much better. While the ladies were pampered in the hotel spa, they boys rented clubs at the resort's golf course and played 18 holes. None of them shot anywhere near a good score, but they had fun.

But as Saturday progressed, it was a repeat of Friday night. Everyone proceeded to drink a little too much as Cody and Bailey had to tend to them. Once he got everyone passed out for the night again, Cody took his winnings from the night before and did some souvenir shopping. And in New York, Bailey had to weather another late night food craving. But she talked them out of hitting White Castle again and talked them into just ordering room service.

Everyone had to be checked out by noon, and when it was time to head back, Maya just handed Bailey the keys to her car. Bailey just shrugged and hopped behind the wheel. They weren't out of the city before everyone else in the car was asleep again. At the casino, they boys bid farewell to Kurt and hopped into the car to head back to New Haven as well. And like Maya and Addison, Zack and Woody were soon asleep as well.

By the time they got back to New Haven, Addison was feeling a little better, so she agreed to do the drive back to Boston. And after making their goodbyes, Cody and Bailey were all alone again. And both just sunk back into their couch.

"Okay, I need a vacation now..."

Bailey laughed. "Me too..."

He handed her a bag. "Here, I bought us a couple of shirts at the Margaritaville in the hotel."

She just looked at him. "Cody, I appreciate the thought, but you shouldn't have. I know we have grants for our theses this summer, but we should be saving our money as much as possible. Who knows when we'll have an unexpected expense."

He grinned. "I know, and we do have quite a bit saved up due to our frugality. But I was able to afford them rather easily. Here." He gave here a small envelope. She opened it and gasped. "Cody! There must be over three hundred dollars in here!"

"$328 to be exact. Zack made me place one bet. So, I put ten bucks on eight in roulette in honor of our anniversary. Well, I won. So, we have some mad money whenever we feel like doing something crazy..."

She grinned. "I guess we do. But we don't have time to do anything crazy right now. We have our theses to work on for a couple of weeks. Remember...our third year starts at the end of next month..."

Cody sighed. "I remember. Can't we have one night to be kind of silly and start back to work tomorrow?"

"Well..." She grinned again. "...I suppose that would be alright."

For the next couple of weeks, Cody and Bailey worked on their theses for over fifty hours a week. The way they figured it, they would have rough drafts of them ready by the time their fourth years started and would have that whole year for electives. But on the Friday of that second week, they stopped work at noon. Packing up once again, they hopped in the car and made their way for New York City. And a couple of hours later, they pulled into the parking garage of the New York Tipton. At the front desk, they said they were part of the Bennett/Martin wedding party, and after showing ID to confirm they were who they said they were, they were given the keys to their room. And once in their room, they finally had time to relax.

"What time do we have to be somewhere?"

Bailey checked her watch. "Rehearsal is at 5:00 and its 2:30 now. We have a couple of hours to take it easy..."

Cody nodded. "Not enough time to really do something but too much time to just sit back and do nothing."

She smiled at him. "Well, we've busted our humps the bast two weeks. We deserve some down time. How about we call for a wake up call in an hour and a half and take a nap?"

He smiled back. "Now, that sounds like a good idea."

An hour and a half later, the call came and both yawned, stretched and finally got up.

"I could use a couple of more hours."

"Same here. But we have to get ready. I'll head to the shower first."

Fifteen minutes, Bailey came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her.

"Your turn..."

But Cody didn't move. Instead, he just stood there and began laughing. Bailey turned to look at him again.

"What's so funny?"

He smiled at her. "I was just thinking. You coming out in your towel reminded me of our first trip to New York City together. You did the exact same thing then too..."

She smiled back. "That's right. I did. I believe it was that night we had our little talk..."

"Yeah, we did." He walked over and kissed her. "Want to know something?"

"Sure."

"I desire you just as much today as I did then. If possible, even more so..."

She glanced down at Cody in his boxers and smiled at him. "I know the feeling. Now...hurry up and grab a shower. We both have big roles in this thing, so we can't be late..."

The rehearsal went by without too many problems. Maya made a few suggestions, but other than that, everyone knew exactly what to do within an hour. Following that was the rehearsal dinner in a private room of the hotel's restaurant. Dinner was good, and the groom's cake in the shape of the Red Sox logo made out of red velvet cake and cream cheese icing was delicious. Once it started getting late, it was time for Zack and Maya to part until the ceremony the following evening.

"So, Broseph...you crashing with me tonight?"

Cody just looked at his brother. "I hadn't planned on it. I mean...you didn't stay with me the night before mine..."

"Come on...It'll be fun. You, me and Woody will play some cards or watch some bad TV..."

Cody shook his head. "I don't think so, Zack. No offense, but I'd much rather spend the evening with my wife. She smells a whole let better and is much, much cuter. But, I will meet you for breakfast in the morning at 8:00."

Zack looked at him incredulously. "8:00?"

"Okay...make it 9:00."

"Lets say brunch at 10:30. Not getting married until 6:00 after all..."

The next morning, Bailey headed off to have breakfast with Maya and Addison in Maya's room while Cody met Zack and Woody downstairs. From there, the guys headed to the hotel's arcade to waste some time while the ladies immediately began their road to getting ready. The stylist and nail person were going to show up at noon to get them fancied up.

By two o'clock, the girls were done with their hair and nails, and it was the guys' turn. By four o'clock, it was time for everyone to begin getting ready. The bride was in white with the bridesmaids in black. The groomsmen were in black tuxes with black vests while the groom had a white jacket and black vest. The ladies began the tradition again of giving Maya her something old, new, borrowed and blue. Carey let Maya borrow the family bracelet, and then she turned to Bailey and Maya both and said that the next person to wear it would be one her grandchildren or the person marrying one of her grandchildren. Both just shook their heads and laughed. And then it was Bailey's turn to give Maya a gift, and she returned the favor and gave her a blue garter.

At a quarter until six, it was go time. Cody and Woody followed Zack to the front of the ballroom and took their places. And soon after, it was time for the bridesmaids to make their entrance. Addison came down the aisle first followed by Bailey and the flower girl. And then it was time for the bridal march. Maya and her Dad appeared at the end of the aisle and began walking down it. At the other end, he gave Maya's hand to Zack and gave his blessing.

Twenty minutes later, Zack and Maya were husband and wife, and there was a new Mrs. Martin. After pictures, it was time for the reception. Once again, Chef Paulo had outdone himself, and the meal was magnificent. When people finished eating, Cody stood up and clinked his glass to get everyone's attention.

"Good evening, everyone. I'm Cody Martin, the groom's younger twin brother." He paused and grinned. "But while Zack was born first, everything else I did first. I went to college first, I met my wife Bailey before he met Maya, I graduated first, I got married first...well, the list just keeps going on and on." He turned to Maya. "But my new sister-in-law has several firsts of her very own. She was the first woman my brother ever truly loved...the first to figure out how to get him to do things and make him think it was his idea...and she was the first to finally get him to live up to his vast potential. And for that, you will have my family's undying gratitude. You're the best thing to ever happen to my brother. Trust me, I lived in the same womb or room with him for almost eighteen years. He can be a pain, but he's also worth it. So...Sis...Welcome to the family." He turned to Zack. "Bro...You once told me that you didn't know how I did or what Bailey saw in me, but that I had a great girl and somehow talked her into marrying me. Well, Zack, today, I can finally say...right back at you. You have a great girl now yourself. You better take care of her and treat her right. Because, just like you told me...Bro, there's no way you can do any better..."

One the toasts were done, it was time for the mother/son and father/daughter dances followed by the cutting of the wedding cake. And then it was time to dance some more. Of course, Maya and Zack remembered the promise they had gotten from Cody and Bailey the day of their graduation, and both made sure they constantly had a drink in their hands. But after a while, Cody and Bailey were getting a little lightheaded, and both used the same trick Cody had used on his night out with the guys.

"Okay, I can see why you did this now. But, at least cranberry juice is good for us."

Cody laughed. "Told you..."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah..."

He smiled at her. "I will say. Its nice to be able to enjoy a wedding without having everyone's eyes constantly on you and what you're doing."

"Tell me about it. That, and I can dance every dance with you and not worry about hurting someone else's feelings."

"I can think of another benefit too."

"What's that?"

"When they ask all the single men and women on to the dance floor for the garter and bouquet, we never have to go out there ever again..."

Bailey laughed. "Very true..." She teased him. "That might be my biggest perk yet of marrying you..."

"Thanks, Sweetie..."

She leaned in and kissed him. "I can think of another benefit and perk as well..."

"What's that?"

She smiled. "We can sneak away and no one will ever notice we're gone..."

_To be Continued... _


	99. Game Set Match

_Chapter 99_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Like Cody and Bailey had almost two years earlier, Zack and Maya had an early flight out of JFK the next morning to Aruba for their honeymoon. Unlike Cody and Bailey, they didn't leave their reception early and were still there with several guests until two in the morning. They figured with two hours to go before they had to leave for the airport, they would just stay up. But by then, Cody and Bailey had long ago called it a night and turned in. They had slipped back in to the reception unnoticed about 11:00 and mingled and danced until about 12:30 before they formally made their exit. The next morning, they slept in till almost ten o'clock. And after packing their things to check out, Cody checked his phone and saw he had a missed voicemail. As he listened to it, he began laughing.

Bailey turned to him. "What's so funny this time?"

"Its from Zack. It was from a little after five o'clock this morning. He was whining that we didn't warn him that six in the morning after your wedding came way too early..."

She just shook her head. "We told them the story of what happened to us at least a half dozen times..." She shrugged. "He shouldn't complain though. They're off to Aruba, and we're off to New Haven to get back to work and start school again in a couple of weeks."

Cody paused. "True...maybe we should go away and do something the weekend before we start back? You know...one last hoorah for us before school starts..."

"That would be nice, but we should be saving our money, remember? We're going to have expense coming up in the next couple of years we're going to need it for."

He grinned. "Bails, we have plenty of money squirreled away plus you know how adept at investing I am. We'll be just fine. Besides, we have that $300 left that I won. I think if we got creative, we could pull off a fun weekend with that..."

Bailey paused to think about that. "That's all true..." She smiled. "You know, we do deserve a little fun. I say we go for it!"

And that's what they did. They busted their humps for two more weeks and found themselves almost two thirds of the way done with their theses before their third years began. And to add more cause for celebration, they had good news waiting for them in their mailbox when they checked it right before they left. Their scores from Part 1 of the USMLE had finally arrived. Both held their envelopes and looked at each other.

"On the count of the three?"

Bailey nodded. "One...two...three..."

Both ripped into their envelopes and began scanning the results trying to understand what they were reading.

"Codykins, I see two different numbers here."

"Yeah, it says the three digit is our actual score while the two digit one is its corresponding score on a scale of zero to a hundred. And it says right here that the highest score so far this year is a 261 out of a possible 280."

Bailey nodded. "Okay, I see that now too..." She looked up at Cody. "So, how did you do?"

He grinned. "Well, I didn't have the highest score...Who ever did must have gotten one or two more questions right than I did. I got a 260!"

She grinned right back at him. "Congratulations, Sweetie! That's amazing! You rocked that test."

"Thanks, Bails. How did you do?"

Bailey just kept grinning. "Lets just say I must have gotten one or two more questions right than you did..."

Cody's eyes went wide. "You got the 261?"

She nodded and showed him her results. "Uh huh..."

He just began laughing. "Congratulations, Sweetheart!" He hugged her tightly. When he pulled back, he was grinning. "I'm so glad we stopped being that competitive with each other. If anyone had to beat me, I'm glad it was you. Now...does this mean you'll stop teasing me for beating you on the MCAT by one point?"

She smiled back. "I guess so..." She teased him once again. "I know have this to hold over your head..."

Cody shrugged. "That's fine with me. We're both set up well to get good residencies. And with you having the highest score, you should get a real good one that pays very well." He smiled. "You'll just be my sugar momma then..."

Bailey laughed. "I don't think so. You're set up to get a top one that pays just as well. Just think...going through matching together, some hospital is going to see us as the ultimate two for one deal..."

"Probably so...Now, lets get going! We have a fun weekend to get to and even more reason to celebrate!"

And off they went. They had found a reasonably priced bed and breakfast right on the beach in Rhode Island a couple of hours away. They figured they would cross Rhode Island off of their list as they had already been on vacations in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut. That would leave only Maine left to take care of all of New England. But they had trepidations about going there as they had heard horror stories of how the locals treated people from Massachusetts. Word is they called everyone from Massachusetts 'massholes'. The weekend was fun and relaxing and well within their budget. On Sunday, they drove back home to New Haven looking forward to starting their third year of medical school.

And this was going to be their first year of clinicals, and they went ahead and got the required ones out of the way early. Right off the bat, they had an eight week clinical course in general medicine that lasted through early August. And following it, they had another eight week course in Pediatrics. That was followed by a four week course in Ambulatory Medicine and another four week course in Clinical Neuroscience. These clinical courses were different as they were being graded for the first time in their medical school careers. But it was really nothing to worry about as they both continued to excel and score very highly. So well in fact that they joked about writing a book about their method of studying. Cody said he already had a publisher from the cookbook he wrote when he was younger, but both decided that would be something they could do when they had more time.

When their Clinical Neuroscience course ended, it was the very beginning of December which lead to their one perk of their third year. They both had had to work on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday...a fact not lost on others as Zack left a message on Cody's phone bemoaning the fact that the Thanksgiving meal that year sucked. But they would have all of December off for a break. And their plan was to spent the first two weeks finishing the rough drafts of their theses. And by December 15th, they had. That left them the rest of the month to spend time with their families. The first week or so was spent in Boston while the the remaining of the time up until New Year's Day was spent in Kettlecorn. But like years past, they had to be back at school and ready to start again the first Monday in January.

And their clinical course continued. First up was a six week course in Psychiatry followed by another six week course in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Once they finished that, they actually got their first chance to pick an elective. They chose Ophthalmology as it was a topic heavily emphasized on Part II of the USMLE. Once it was completed, they had a six week course in General Surgery followed by a final two week course in Anesthesiology to complete their third year.

But the end of their third year brought with it preparations to begin applying for their residencies. In late March, they both selected their senior advisers. And in early April, they were even busier. The first step was finalizing their schedule for their fourth years. There were two courses they had to take, a four week class in Primary Care and a three week course in Integrative Clinical Medicine that would take place right before Match Day. From there, Cody and Bailey diverged and chose a couple of course each was interested in. Cody signed up for courses in Plastic Surgery and Radiology while Bailey signed up for ones in Adolescent Impatient Psychiatry and Impatient Hospital Psychiatry. Beyond that, they thought it would be wise to take courses that would be helpful for their next round of tests. So, they chose clinicals in Dermatology, Urology, Family Medicine and Orthopedics. Plus, they left the two weeks right before Christmas break free to do one final edit of their these and to finish preparing and take their next round of the USMLE.

Beyond that, they signed up for the Electronic Residency Application Service and begin obtaining the initial transcript and letters of recommendations they would need. And between the doctors they had worked with and professors they learned under, they had no problems getting those. Plus, they had went ahead and signed up to take both parts of the USMLE Part II in late November and early December. For one part, it was only offered five places in the country, and the closest location to them was Philadelphia (much closer than Atlanta, Chicago, Houston or Los Angeles). And in June, they met with the Dean of the Yale Medical School for an interview to complete their Medical School Performance Evaluation. Yale gives one of five evaluations – Honors/High Pass/Pass/Low Pass/Fail. Both were happy to find out that they had been rated as Honors.

As their fourth years began about a week after their third one ended, there was no rest for the weary. But beyond doing their classes by day, they had to begin researching residencies and requesting applications. And that lead to an important conversation.

"Bails, they way I see it...we have four options."

She turned to him. "Four?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. We're already requesting to be matched as a couple, so odds are we will be matched with residencies in the same location. So, the four options are to try to match to hospitals close to Kettlecorn, close to Boston, close to New Haven, or choose somewhere brand new where it will be just the two of us."

Bailey paused to consider that. "I guess so. In the long run, as long as I'm there with you, it doesn't matter to me where we are. But, if I had to state my preference, I'd rather we be near one of our families. So, I'd prefer near Kettlecorn or near Boston as my first choice with New Haven being my third choice since we already know the area so well."

"Agreed. But which one to we make our first preference? Kettlecorn or Boston?"

Bailey paused to think again. "Honestly?"

"Please."

"Honestly, I'm torn. I always knew my future laid outside of Kettlecorn, but I've done that now. I left there to follow my dreams and I did." She smiled. "And I found the love of my life in the process. I just think it would be nice to be around my family again. I mean...Grammy is getting closer to 100 now. Who knows how much longer she'll be around to spend time with."

Cody nodded. "I can certainly understand that."

"What about you? What do you prefer?"

He smiled. "Wherever thou goest, I go. Bails, you are my number one priority in life by a long shot. If heading back to Kansas will make you happy, then I say we head there." He paused. "You think I can pull off being a Kansan? I've never had a problem with Missouri before, but will I have to start hating it?"

Bailey smiled and kissed him. "Not if you don't want to, Cody, but I think you'll make a fine Kansan. Thank you for agreeing to go back with me, Sweetie. I hope you know how much I love you and that you are my number one priority by a long shot too."

With that settled, the began researching all openings that they were interested in. And fortunately, Kettlepot Memorial Hosipital were actually looking to add a resident in both psychiatry and radiology. So, they requested applications from the hospital. Unfortunately, that was the only hospital in a three hour radius of Kettlecorn that was looking for more than one resident. So, to be on the safe side, they also researched openings in the Boston area as well as the New Haven area and requested applications from them. By September of that year, applications started becoming due. All told, they had each applied to over thirty different residency programs hoping to get interview requests from at least half of them.

In October, they began getting letters and phone calls asking them to come in for interviews. And since the hospitals were aware that they were being matched as a couple, they set up times for them to come in together. The ones in New Haven would be no trouble as they currently lived there. And over their winter break, they set up over a dozen interviews in the Boston area. And Kettlepot Memorial Hospital administrators almost soiled themselves when they saw two highly ranked Yale med students were looking to interview with them. They were more than happy to meet with Cody and Bailey between Christmas and New Years while they would be in Kettlecorn.

Come the middle of November, their two weeks to finish their theses and study finally arrived. Fortunately, their professors said their papers were exemplary as is and only had to do minor edits to them to received the highest marks. With those done quickly, they had time to fully focus on their upcoming USMLE exam. The Monday of Thanksgiving week, they drove down to Philadelphia for their Clinical Skills component of the test. They had planned on staying in a cheap hotel, but London had insisted the they stay at the Philadelphia Tipton free of charge – in exchange for them making sure to be back in Boston for Thanksgiving to cook again. Like Zack, she had found the previous year's meal to be horrendous. Naturally, they agreed.

They finished their exams and left Philadelphia Wednesday morning to drive back to Boston. After almost six hours in the car, they were worn out, but they had to go right back out to the grocery store and come back and start preparing the food for the next day. Needless to say, no one was really surprised when they were both asleep by nine o'clock that night. Thanksgiving dinner the next day was a success, and everyone ate their fill of food. Out of Carey's earshot, everyone thanked them for cooking. But they didn't have time to sit around. They had to head back to New Haven to begin studying for the Clinical Knowledge part of their USMLE Part II scheduled for the following Thursday.

Once they completed that one, they were done with school for a month...but not with interviews. They had several different interviews in New Haven the first week of December. Once those were done, it was time to head to Boston for interviews there as well. Fortunately for them both, the Tipton Hotel's dry cleaning service was thorough and fast as they had to have their interview suits dry cleaned almost every night. Carey was happy to have them home again so soon, but they spent so much time being wined, dined and interviewed, she barely saw them over the course of the week they were there. The one time people did see them was when it was time for Zack and Maya's graduation from grad school.

"Well, Codester, you may have graduated college first, but I will have graduated college a second time first."

Cody smirked at him. "Yeah, but when I do, I'll be Dr. Martin. You'll still be Mr. Martin..."

Things were a lot more calm in Kettlecorn as they only had their final interview to get through while they were there, but Clyde and Eunice could definitely see that both were physically and mentally worn out. Cody and Bailey would normally be among the first one up in the morning, but both slept in everyday until at least ten. The day after their interview, they even slept in passed noon. But that was exactly what they needed. That was their final interview they had scheduled, and the only thing they had left to do was turn in their final theses, rank their preferences for which residencies they preferred and finish their last semester. Realizing they were almost to the finish line gave them the energy they needed to have a fun and festive New Year's Eve.

Once the second semester began, they turned in everything they needed to turn in and sat back to await Match Day on the third Thursday in March. They had listed the openings in Kettlepot as their first choices with a couple of residencies in Boston as their second and third choices. And they only did that after Bailey double checked once again that Cody would be okay with them moving back to Kansas, and he assured her it was fine. On the Monday of Match Week, they stopped by the Dean's office to verify if they had been matched or not. If not, they would have to go into a mad scramble to try to set something up with residencies that were still open. But that wasn't a problem for them. They were assured they had been matched and had been matched to hospitals in the same location. In fact, their adviser let it slip they had both been matched to the same hospital. Hearing that was a load off of both of their minds.

Match Day was like a big party at Yale. Everyone found out where they would be spending the next few years of their lives, and most proceeded to celebrate well into the night. The day after wasn't a scheduled holiday, but everyone knew it was an unofficial one and no one was expected to go to class. Since 'M' was in the middle of the alphabet, they had to wait for almost half of their classmates to be announced first. And it seemed like they were all going to be spread out all around the country. Finally, it was their turn, and as 'B' came before 'C', Bailey was up first.

"Next up is Bailey Martin. Mrs. Martin, you have been matched with...a psychiatric residence with a focus in pediatric psychiatry at...the Children's Hospital of Boston!"

Bailey stood up for everyone to applaud her, but she was shocked. Since their interview in Kettlepot, she and Cody had almost felt like it was a lock they were going there. And once Cody heard what Bailey's match was, he was concerned over what he was looking at now.

"That brings us to Cody Martin. Mr. Martin, you have been matched with...a surgical residency with a focus in plastic surgery at...the Children's Hospital of Boston as well!"

Cody stood up to accept the applause as well. He was shocked like Bailey was, but he was relieved that they would at least be going somewhere they knew. And while Kettlepot was their first preference, settling for Boston wasn't a bad consolation prize.

Once the ceremony was over, Cody and Bailey could finally talk to each other in more than a whisper.

"Cody, what just happened here?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea, Bails. I thought we were headed off to Kansas."

"So did I!"

Cody rubbed her back. "I know we didn't get our first choice, but are you disappointed that we are headed to Boston?"

Bailey sighed and shook her head. "No, I'm not. I really do love Boston, and it will be nice to be around your Mom, Arwin, Maya and Zack. I guess I'm just feeling blindsided right now..."

"You aren't the only ones..."

Cody and Bailey turned to see their adviser standing there.

"What do you mean?"

Dr. Wainwright smiled. "From what I've been told, Kettlepot Memorial Hospital is not very happy right now. They thought they were getting two Yale grads. I talked to them earlier this morning, and their Chief of Medicine had no idea what had happened. They were praying to get you guys, and I told him that you two had put them down as your first choice. Once he heard that, he was even more confused. So, he said he was going to investigate what happened and call me back. When he did, he told me he had found out what had happened. Seems the niece of their residency director was in the match program too, and she applied for the radiology residency as well. The chief and the entire radiology department wanted Cody, but the residency director put down his niece as their first choice for that position. And since you two matched as a couple, they lost both of you. From what he said, both the radiology and psychiatric departments are pissed now too. Needless to say, the residency director is in extremely hot water now and may lose his job. But since the matches are binding, there is nothing that can be done now."

Cody just shook his head. "That sucks..."

Dr. Wainwright smiled again. "The good news is that the Children's Hospital of Boston wanted you two as bad as Kettlepot Memorial did. I spoke with them this morning as well, and they were doing cartwheels down the hallways. Their residency director was extremely thrilled to get both of you, and so are your soon to be department heads. They can't wait for you to get there this summer. Congratulations to you both. I know you both will do extremely well." And with that, she headed off to speak with some of her other advisees.

Cody turned to Bailey. "I'm so sorry, Bails. If not for me, you would have gotten to head home to Kansas."

She smiled at him. "If not for you, I wouldn't have been in a position to get the chance to. Your love, support and understanding has helped me get to where I am. Even if I had got the position in Kettlepot, I wouldn't have gone if it meant I wouldn't be with you."

"I feel the same way about you." He leaned in and kissed her. "You know what this means now, right?"

"What's that?"

"We have to tell our families...and then go start looking for an apartment in Boston!"

They did call Bailey's parents and tell them what had happened. They were upset too, but they understood that things happened. According to Eunice, Clyde was having to hold Grammy back from heading to that hospital with a pair of hedge clippers to talk to the residency director herself. Supposedly, she was storming around the house calling him a damned fool. Cody and Bailey laughed at hearing that, and Eunice said she was glad they were at least going to be around family in Boston. Once done with that phone call, they called Kurt and gave him the good news. He congratulated them, and said he would have to stop by and see them at the hospital when he was back in Boston. They were going to call Carey, but they decided to surprise her and be proactive and head to Boston on Friday to break the news and begin looking for an apartment.

Once they got off the phone with their parents, both of their phones began ringing at the same time. Both answered, and it was their future department heads at Children's Hospital. Both were given a warm welcome to the hospital and began answering any questions they had. Among the information they got were their start dates as well as their starting salary. While neither would be making close to what they would in a few years, they were going to be making enough combined to live very comfortably. And the Children's Hospital even recommended an apartment complex near the hospital that many of their residents lived at and gave discounts to doctors to encourage them to live there.

That night, they went to the party for all fourth year students, and even had a couple of glasses of champagne to toast. And there, they spoke a lot with Ben and Annie. Ben had received a residency in urology and Annie one in OB/GYN at the hospital they had worked at in Santa Monica. Ben just shook his head at Cody and Bailey though.

"I can't believe how lucky you two got."

Bailey looked at him in question. "What do you mean?"

"Well, first year of residency, you'll work crazy hours like everyone else, but after that, you're on easy street. Psychiatry and Plastic Surgery are what my Dad considers banker's fields."

"What's that mean?"

"It means everything that needs to be done there can mostly be done between nine and five. Neither field really have cases that are deemed an emergency."

Cody and Bailey hadn't considered that, but that idea appealed to the both of them quite a bit. They didn't stay terribly late at the party though as they had plans to be on the road early back to Boston. They wanted to surprise Carey in the morning and then have all Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to look at apartments. In fact, when they got home from the party, they immediately began looking up apartments on the internet seeing if they could find any kind of specials. They checked out the one the hospital liked, and both liked it enough to make it the first one they checked out.

The next morning, they packed a bag and were on the road by 8:30. At eleven o'clock, they pulled into the parking garage of the Tipton hotel. The hotel was brimming with people there for a convention, so they made their way through the lobby without anyone noticing them. When they got to the 24th floor, Carey was surprised to see them.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you two, but shouldn't you two be in class right now?"

Cody smiled. "Well, we have the day off, and we have a surprise for you, Mom."

"What kind of surprise? Are you pregnant?"

Bailey smiled this time. "Nothing like that yet. Yesterday was our match day for residencies. We know we're were going to be continuing our medical careers now..."

Carey looked back and forth at them in anticipation. "Well...where?"

"We both have residencies at the Children's Hospital..." Cody paused and grinned. "...of Boston. We're moving to Boston!"

Carey shrieked and ran over to hug them both. "This is wonderful news! We have to celebrate you two coming home!"

Cody laughed. "We'd like that, but we need to start looking for an apartment this afternoon. Hopefully its not too late to find something nice near the hospital to move into in June."

Carey shook her head. "Of course. Its already the middle of March. We need to get moving then..." She grabbed her purse. "I'll help you two look. I know a realtor here in town. We'll go see her and see if she can help us."

Cody and Bailey shrugged and decided that would probably be a good idea. They opened the door to head out only to find Zack and Maya standing there with big smiles on their faces.

Carey paused. "Both of my sons and daughters-in-law came to see me today..." She laughed. "You guys have some major news for me too?"

Zack grinned. "We sure do!"

Maya was beaming. "We're pregnant!"

_To be Concluded..._

**AN: As you can see, this is the penultimate chapter. And this chapter was a complete pain to write as I had to look up the residency process for med students. Thankfully, law students don't have to go through that crap. Anyways, I figured I'd confirm what some people had noticed. Yes, Bailey's sister Sally's new beau was named Linus in homage to Peanuts. Yes, the news team during the nor'easter was an homage to Anchorman (in the call letters, I had to change the K to a W as radio and TV stations in the eastern half of the country use W while those in the western half use K). I kept trying to work in a reference to Cody and Zack's cousin Angela Martin who lived in Scranton, PA, worked for a paper company and broke up with her boyfriend for trying to euthanize one of her cats, but I couldn't find a good place for it. Oh well...I might find use for it in another story. And I'm sure there are other references from other shows that I can't remember now. **_  
><em>


	100. Coming Full Circle

_Chapter 100_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Carey, Bailey and Cody just stared at Zack and Maya in shock. Had Maya really just said that she was pregnant? But that was all Carey needed before she pulled Zack and Maya into a huge embrace as her tears started flowing. Cody and Bailey just looked at each other. Their good news had certainly been topped, and it looked like they had just lost their third apartment hunter. Under the circumstances though, they could completely understand that. For Bailey, she was happy for her brother-in-law and sister-in-law. For Cody though, he momentarily had that old feeling come back that seemed to hit him all the time when he and Zack were kids. It seemed like Zack had once again overshadowed him. One one of the biggest days of Cody's professional life, Zack had managed to take the spotlight away again. Cody quickly shook away those feelings though. This wasn't a time to be jealous or petty but rather to be happy that was going to be an uncle again. By the time he had gotten through that whole spectrum of emotions, Carey had finally released Zack and Maya.

"You're pregnant? But...but...I didn't even know that you two were trying..."

Maya was still beaming. "We weren't...it just kind of happened, and we're thrilled! The doctor said I was about six weeks along!"

Zack grinned. "Which makes sense...Six weeks ago was that nor'easter that hit Boston and we were stranded in our apartment for three days. So..."

Carey stopped him. "I don't need to know details. But this is wonderful news! Both of my boys stopped by to surprise me today with wonderful news!"

Zack and Maya looked at each other, and it finally dawned on them that Cody and Bailey were in Boston when they shouldn't be.

"What other wonderful news?" Maya turned to Bailey. "Did something happen to you two as well? Are you two pregnant too?"

Bailey shook her head rather quickly. "No! At least not that we know of...We just got our residency matches yesterday."

"Yeah? Where are you guys headed to?"

Bailey smiled. "Well, we were actually on our way to go look for apartments. We're moving back to Boston as we both got residencies at the Children's Hospital of Boston..."

Zack spoke up. "Isn't that the one a few blocks from Fenway Park?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah, it is. Bailey got a residency in psychiatry with a specialty in pediatric psychiatry, and I got a residency in surgery with a specialty in plastic surgery."

Zack busted out laughing. "I knew it! Baby bro is going to be a plastic surgeon!"

Cody rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yes...at a children's hospital. Its one of the top pediatric plastic surgery departments in the country. I'll be helping correct birth defects, burns, and other similar maladies. Zack, all of my patients will be children. So, while there may be the occasional rhinoplasty due to a deviated septum, there will be no augmentations..."

Zack just kept laughing though. "Uh huh...Besides that, you're going to be married to a shrink! And you always said I was the one who needed a full time one..."

Maya just gave Zack a look basically telling him to shut up before turning to Cody and Bailey with a smile on her face. "That's wonderful news though. Congratulations. Looks like we'll have extra babysitters now too."

Zack nodded. "That's true. I guess I was the first of us to make the other an uncle..."

Cody paused and nodded. "That's true I guess. Anyways, congratulations to you two as well. Maybe we can all get together tonight to celebrate? We'd love to stay and celebrate with you now, but this is our one opportunity to get out and find an apartment before graduation in a couple of months..."

Carey turned to him. "Oh my gosh...That totally slipped my mind..."

Bailey smiled at her. "No worries. We've actually already looked online at some places. The hospital recommended a complex, and we think it might be exactly what we're looking for. Its a few blocks from the hospital, and if it checks out and is available, we should be done with our search quickly. We'll just head out and see everyone again in a few hours..."

Carey nodded and turned her attention back to Maya and Zack as Cody and Bailey excused themselves for a little while. And as they rode down in the elevator, Bailey turned to Cody.

"I noticed the look on your face earlier. Those old feelings of being overshadowed by Zack come back again?"

He sighed. "Yeah...for a moment they did."

She smiled at him. "Don't let them get to you. Just remember that you were one of the most sought after residents to be in the country. He wasn't. You're doing extremely well, Sweetie."

He nodded. "I know...its weird though. I hadn't felt that feeling since I was in high school."

"I'm glad you don't have it anymore because you have no reason to feel overshadowed now. I may be biased here, but I definitely believe I got the better twin. Just remember, you have me who absolute loves and adores you. To me, you are one a kind."

He smiled at her. "And having you makes me feel special." He leaned in closer. "And I may be biased too and no offense to Maya, but I definitely believe I have the most beautiful, the most brilliant and the most talented wife in the world..."

She grinned at him again. "Well, my husband is no slouch himself." She paused. "Why didn't you tell him that you were already an uncle though. We've already got over ten nieces and nephews..."

"I know, but this was his moment. I didn't want to take away from it."

She smiled again. "And that's why I know I have the best husband in the world."

Heading outside, they caught the subway and headed over towards the apartment complex the hospital had recommended. And when they met with the leasing agent, they explained they would be residents at Children's Hospital in a few months and even gave her the name of their two superiors to be if she wanted to verify that. The leasing agent did just that, and when she got the confirmation, she began showing Cody and Bailey apartments. The decided they liked having a home office, so they wanted a two bedroom apartment. They found a floor plan they liked, and when they found out that there was going to be one available on the eighth floor for them to move in to at the beginning of June, they saw it as fate and signed a lease right then and there.

On their way back to the Tipton, they realized they were going to have a busy few days around graduation. They had to be out of their apartment in New Haven on May 31st...which happened to be the day of their graduation. And now, it looked like they would be moving to Boston on the day after. Both shuddered thinking about it but realized they had time to worry about it later.

When they got back to the hotel, it was time for a celebration. Maya was just getting up from the nap that Carey had insisted she take to save her energy. And when asked if they found an apartment, Cody and Bailey said they had and showed them the brochure. Of course, Zack remembered the place as it was about a block away from where Maddie's family lived. He grinned and said he had a place to go for the pre and post game Red Sox celebrations. Cody just grinned and reminded him that he was a soon to be a father and wouldn't have time for any of that for several years. Zack wasn't sure he liked the sound of that, but Cody just kept grinning. Speaking of the Red Sox, Cody remembered there was something he had to do.

After celebrating on Friday night, Cody and Bailey headed back to New Haven on Saturday. Even though a lot had happened lately, they still had two more four week classes and then a free week before graduation. Of course, having everything settled was a huge relief off of their minds. There was no more match to worry about, no more theses to work on and no more tests until after they finished their first year of residency. So, when they got home from their clinicals every day, they could do whatever they wanted to do. But one of the things they did was get things ready for their move. A truck had been reserved and appointments for the utilities they would need to have connected in Boston had been made.

Those next eight weeks flew by and they suddenly found themselves with nothing to do for a week. Well, not exactly nothing to do. They had to finish packing up all of their possessions in the world as they had four days before their families arrived on Friday afternoon. And of course, Clyde, Kurt, Arwin, and Zack knew they were being enlisted to help load the truck as soon as they got there. In fact, Clyde, Eunice and Grammy were going to go to Boston with them to see their new place and the city for the first time. On Friday afternoon, they picked up the truck and several hours later, they finished loading it up. Cody and Bailey dropped off their keys to graduate housing and followed everyone back to the hotel everyone was staying at.

The next day, Cody and Bailey officially became doctors. Technically they did anyways. They now held their medical doctorates. All they needed now was their licenses to practice medicine. But once graduation was over, they didn't have time to sit back and celebrate as they had to be getting to Boston. Clyde was going to ride in the moving truck with Cody while Bailey would take Eunice and Grammy in their car. Three hours later, they pulled in front of their apartment complex. Bailey went to pick up their keys while Cody and Clyde began unloading the truck. When Bailey came outside, she was pushing a cart similar to ones that the Tipton had to help them move in. Several hours later, everything was moved in. Cody and Bailey were going to set up everything that night, but Clyde, Eunice and Grammy wanted to be shown Boston before they flew out the next morning. So, they did, and Cody and Bailey spent all day Sunday unpacking and settling into their new home. And after they were done, they sunk back into their couch again. But Cody had something for Bailey and handed her a gift bag.

"Consider this a housewarming/welcome to Boston present from me to you..."

Bailey smiled at him. "You didn't have to get me anything, Sweetie."

Cody smiled right back. "Oh yeah I did. Open the card first though..."

Bailey did and pulled out a folded piece of paper. And when she saw what it was, her smile faded from her face. "Its the final standings from the American League Central last season..."

Cody kept smiling though. "Correct. And if you'll notice, the Royals finished 80-82...good enough for fourth place..."

She sighed. "Let me guess what's in the bag then..." She opened it up and pulled out her very own Red Sox jersey. "Yeah, that's what I thought it was." She turned to him and gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "You aren't really going to hold me to that silly bet, are you Codykins?"

He just kept smiling. "Of course I am...just like you would have if you had won." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Welcome to the Red Sox Nation, Bails..."

_Five Months Later_

It was two o'clock in the morning and Halloween was now officially two hours old. Cody and Bailey had just finished a twelve hour shift as the the surgical and psychiatric residents. They were looking forward to just heading home and falling into bed. Afterall, they had to be back at the hospital at six o'clock that night for another twelve hour shift. They were heading out of the hospital when Cody's cell phone begin ringing. Looking at each other, they had no idea who would be calling at that hour. But when Cody answered, he just listened and nodded.

"Uh huh...uh huh...uh huh...Alright, we're on our way..." He hung up the phone and turned to Bailey. "Maya's water broke and they're rushing her to the hospital as we speak..."

Bailey nodded. "Which hospital?"

"Brigham and Women's."

"Good. That's right next door to us. We'll probably be there before they will..."

And they were. They were actually sitting in the waiting room when Maya was wheeled into the delivery room entrance followed by Zack, Carey and Arwin. She was wailing and screaming as she came in.

"Must be a contraction..."

Bailey nodded. "I think so. Can't say I'm looking forward to going through that though..."

Maya was wheeled back to the delivery room with Zack right behind her. Since Cody and Bailey were already in the waiting room, Carey and Arwin came over to join them. And immediately, Carey told them that they looked exhausted. Going in to mothering mode, she told them to lay down on one of the couches there to get some sleep. She promised to wake them up when something happened. And since they were so tired, they didn't argue.

The next thing either knew, Carey was shaking them awake. Both looked up trying to get their bearings and remembered where they were. Cody checked his watch and saw it was almost ten in the morning.

Bailey yawned. "Did she have the baby?"

Carey smiled and nodded. "She did about thirty minutes ago. I have a grandson and you both have a nephew. They named him Kevin Anthony Martin after Zack's favorite Celtic and Red Sox players and after Maya's father.

Cody turned to Bailey. "There's a little Zack now...Should I be happy or petrified?"

She laughed. "I think happy for now...petrified may come later."

A little while later, Zack brought his son out to meet his new family. And immediately, the baby's grandmothers took him from Zack and began fussing all over him. Zack just shook his head and saw his brother and sister-in-law. He began laughing.

"Well, I see you two finally got new Halloween costumes. I mean, there are only so many times you two can go dressed as the Professor and Mary Ann..." He paused. "...even though you two really are the Professor and Mary Ann..."

Cody rolled his eyes. "No, we had just finished our shifts when we got the call. But Congratulations, Bro. Your son is beautiful."

Bailey nodded. "He really is." She grinned. "He must get that from his mother..."

_Two Months Later_

It was New Year's Eve. Cody and Bailey hadn't been able to go back to Kettlecorn for New Year's Eve as they had to work until eight o'clock that night. They had been able to go back a few weeks before for a long weekend, but this year, they would be in Boston. And as tired as they were, they really didn't have the energy to head out into the city either. So, instead, they spent the evening at home...babysitting. They offered to watch Kevin so Zack and Maya could have a night off to themselves. And as much as their niece Andrea had been attached to her Uncle Cody, their nephew Kevin was attached to his Aunt Bailey. He would just laugh and smile as she held him, and this caused Cody to laugh.

"What's so funny, Cody?"

"I was just thinking. Eight years ago, it was Moose. Four years ago, it was Reggie. I remember wondering who was going to try to curry your favor this year, now four years later..." He looked down at his nephew and smiled. "Turns out its my own flesh and blood. Kevin, your Daddy needs to teach you the rules of the Guyble..."

Bailey laughed. "Well, I don't mind this little guy smiling and batting his eyes at me. But he'll just have to learn that my heart belongs to his Uncle Cody and always will..."

He leaned in to kiss the top of her head. "This is kind of nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is..." She paused. "I can just feel all of these motherly instincts I never knew I had when I hold him..."

"You've always had them, Bails. Just look at how good you take care of me..."

She smiled at him. "I appreciate that...but this different." She looked back down at Kevin. "I don't know how to explain it.'

Cody paused to look at his wife holding the baby. "Because you want one of your own too, don't you?"

She just kept looking at the baby and nodded. "Yeah, I think I do. I know we said we'd wait until we were settled in our careers, but I can't help it. I don't know if you're ready, but..."

He put his finger up to her lips and smiled. "When I used the word 'too', I was referring to me wanting one as well..."

She smiled back at him. "Really? You think we're ready?"

"I think so. I mean...Bails, you're a natural at this. So, if I freak out or do something stupid, I know I'll have you here with me..."

Bailey laughed. "I seriously doubt that...you're a natural at being a Dad too. If you don't believe me, we'll just call Andrea. To her, her Uncle Cody can do no wrong." She paused. "So, are you saying we should try to have one?"

Cody stopped to think. "Well, not immediately..." He saw Bailey's face fall. "...because I think we should get through the last part of the USMLE first. I don't want the stress of the that to have a negative effect on a pregnancy. Plus, I think it would be best for us to finish our first years of residency first. Our second year, our schedules will be a lot more sane, and no more late nights."

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. That makes a lot of sense..."

He smiled at her. "But once we do, there will be nothing to stop us. Around May, you'll go off birth control, and we'll see what happens. And until then, we can practice as much as possible..."

She smiled back at him. "Sounds like a plan to me..." She looked down at Kevin. "What do you think? How does having a little cousin sound to you?"

_Six Months Later_

It was now the middle of June, and Cody and Bailey had just finished taking Part III of the USMLE. After that, there would be no more tests for them. And the middle of June also meant that they were finished with their first year of residency. They would still be on call some nights, but their normal work hours would be much, much better. And with those two tasks completed, it was time to get down to the little project they panned out six month previously.

And this was Cody and Bailey we're talking about. They went all out to make sure everything was fine. Both got themselves tested to find out if there would be any problems. And thankfully, there weren't any. Bailey was fertile, and Cody's swimmers were working just fine. After that, they bought tests to know when Bailey was ovulating and would be most fertile. Everything seemed ready for them to get pregnant.

But life doesn't work out that way. Four months later, and still nothing. They got checked out again by doctors who once again told them they were fine and just to be patient. But they were beyond being patient.

"Cody, I don't understand this at all! We've done everything we've supposed to do, and still, we have nothing to show for it!"

Cody rubbed her shoulders. "I know, Bails. I'm just as frustrated as you are..."

She sighed. "What are we supposed to do now?"

He paused to consider something. "Maybe we should stop trying for a little while then?"

She turned to look at him in surprise. "What are you saying? I thought you wanted a baby just as much as I do!"

"Relax, Sweetheart. I do want one as much as you do, but..."

"But what?"

He sighed this time. "Well, maybe its just me, but for the past couple of months, I've been feeling...pressured."

"Pressured?"

He nodded. "Bails, you know that making love to you is my most favorite thing in the world to do. I feel so close to you and I'm able to show you just how much I love you. But lately...its like there is this two ton gorilla in the room with us laughing at me asking me if I'm finally going to man up and get the job done..."

Bailey gasped. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was hoping I'd get the job done, and it would go away..." He paused. "What about you? Have you been feeling any pressure too?"

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I have. I love making love to you just as much, but it has been different these past couple of months. It seems like we only do it when I'm ovulating and then its only to get pregnant. Its become almost...I hate to say it...clinical. It just doesn't seem fair though. Maya and Zack weren't even trying, and they got pregnant!"

He rubbed her shoulders again. "I know...but then again, we aren't them and they aren't us."

She hung her head. "I know...So, what should we do?"

He paused to think. "Well, why don't we take a weekend to just get away from everything for a while. We'll just focus on each other and not worry about anything else." He smiled. "We'll make love because we want to and not because of what we hope it will bring us in about thirty-eight weeks. We'll clear our minds and just rest and relax."

She smiled back at him. "I like the sound of that. Where should we go though?"

"How about back to New Haven? We'll go see our old haunts and find us a nice cozy place right on the ocean. And we'll make sure it has a fireplace."

Bailey kept smiling. "Lets go book it now!"

So, that's what they did. In early November, they headed back to New Haven and just had a weekend of having fun. They took walks on the beach and ate at some of their old favorite restaurants. And they took the chance to enjoy the fireplace in their room. When they made love, it was about their love and desire for each other and nothing else. By the time they headed back to Boston, both felt a lot more relaxed and less pressured. They decided that they were just fine being just the two of them for a little while longer and decided Bailey would go back on birth control for six more months before they would try again.

A few weeks after they got back, Bailey stopped by to go back on the shot before they headed home for the day. Like usual, the doctor took some blood, and Cody and Bailey just waited around talking about how they were going to be hosting Thanksgiving dinner in a couple of weeks. The doctor came back into the exam room looking at her chart when Bailey spoke up.

"Am I ready to get my shot?"

The doctor looked up. "Actually, no. It won't do you any good..."

Bailey frowned. She immediately thought the worst and that they found something they had missed earlier in her tests.

Cody spoke up. "Why won't it do any good?"

The doctor smiled. "Because there is no point to it when Bailey is already pregnant!"

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other in surprise. Bailey pulled Cody into a tight hug and began crying. Cody just rubbed her back and whispered in her ear.

"See...I told you something like this would happen. When we tried, nothing. But once we were just ourselves again, it happened."

Bailey pulled back, wiped her eyes and laughed. "I guess so. Cody, we're going to be parents!"

He laughed too. "I know. And our child will have to go to Yale now too. He or she was conceived in New Haven afterall..."

She just shook her head at him. But she was so happy right then, she was more than willing to overlook another one of his corny jokes. Besides, they had several phone calls to make to let people know they were going to be a grandfather, grandmother, uncle or aunt. And when Zack found out he was finally going to be an uncle, he slapped his brother on the back.

"About time, Broseph. I guess I actually will be an uncle. Lets just hope the kid takes after its Mom...Oh yeah, this is another thing I did first!"

After that, it was nine months of doctor's appointments, morning sickness, severe mood swings and late night cravings. And through it all, Cody and Bailey never felt closer to each other knowing that the tangible proof of their love was growing in Bailey's belly. To Cody, Bailey never looked more beautiful than she did pregnant with their child. And for Bailey, it took her a little while to actually believe he meant that, but whenever she looked into his eyes, she knew he was telling the truth. That, and his nose didn't twitch. The only downside was that they were losing their home office as they had to change it into a nursery.

In late August of the next year, in the midst of humid Saturday morning during another Boston heat wave , Bailey's water broke. It was a good thing they lived so close to Brigham and Women's Hospital as Cody was able to drive her there in less than five minutes. Once Bailey was taken to change into a hospital gown, Cody made the calls to all the soon to be grandparents, aunts and uncles. They said they were all on their way, even Eunice and Clyde.

Over the course of the next twelve hours, everyone actually began showing up at the hospital as Bailey continued going through labor. Finally, she was fully dilated and ready to give birth. At 10:18 that evening, Cody and Bailey welcomed their daughter to the world. And in Cody's eyes, she was just as beautiful as her mother was. He may have been biased, but in his opinion, there had never been a more beautiful and perfect mother and daughter. And from the moment they both saw her, they fell helplessly in love with her.

Close to midnight, Bailey was in a private room holding their daughter with all of their family surrounding them. Since Brigham and Women's and the Children's Hospital were affiliated, they cut them some slack on visiting hours. Finally, Clyde spoke up.

"So, does my newest granddaughter have a name yet?"

Bailey looked up at her Dad and smiled. "Yeah, she does. I'd like to formally introduce everyone to Samantha Audrey Martin..."

Grammy was honored and smiled. "You gave her my first name for her middle name?"

Cody smiled. "Yeah, we did. We hope she grows up to be just like her great grandmother."

Carey smiled and spoke up. "Its a beautiful name for a beautiful baby girl. And with the initials S-A-M, she'll always be Sam."

Eunice nodded. "Yeah, I love the name. Why did you pick the name Samantha though?"

Cody turned to Bailey. "You want to tell them or should I?"

She smiled at him. "I will." She turned to look at everyone. "As you all know by now, my first day at Yale almost ten years ago, I was abandoned by the shuttle driver right outside of Cody's dorm room. The badge on the guy's shirt said his name was Sam. If not for what he did that day, Cody and I might not have ever met and we wouldn't have this little bundle right here. The driver might have shirked his responsibilities that day, but if he hadn't, our two worlds may never have collided..."

_The End._


End file.
